We’ve heard rumors all year that Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the long dormant companion title to 2009’s Final Fantasy XIII, had been canceled. Until we get official word from Square-Enix, the cancellation will have to remain a rumor, but this report from the fine folks at Kotaku is pretty convincing.
It would be logical for Square-Enix to move away from the Final Fantasy XIII brand at this point. The whole purpose of linking Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XIII back in 2006 was to show consumers that the next evolution in the Final Fantasy series was to be a gigantic, multi-dimensional, very important enterprise. Six years later, Final Fantasy XIII is no longer the “next evolution” of Final Fantasy in the eyes of consumers. Now it’s “that old Final Fantasy game that some people really hated and then got a weird sequel that no one paid that much attention to”. If Square-Enix wants to get people more excited for Versus XIII (which had no narrative, thematic, or gameplay ties to Final Fantasy XIII anyway), then might be a good idea to name it something else. Final Fantasy XV is one idea.
Square-Enix is holding a Final Fantasy event on September 1st, and the word is they’ll be making some Final Fantasy XIII announcements there. Maybe we’ll find out the fate of Final Fantasy Versus XIII then.
