Final Fantasy Versus XIII

With the PlayStation 4 now officially out in the open, it’s been a while since we last had a juicy rumour to sink our teeth into. But just as we were starting to feel impatient, infamous rumourmonger VGLeaks has cooked up a corker and served it in a mushroom cloud-shaped dish. According to the site, Final Fantasy XV will be exclusive to Sony’s next generation system – and the platform holder is actually contributing to the game’s development.

The details are unsurprisingly sketchy, but the publication claims that the sequel is actually oft delayed PlayStation 3 exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII in disguise. Allegedly, publisher Square Enix halted development on the hotly anticipated spin-off two years ago and decided to switch production to Sony’s next generation platform. We did hear rumours about the title’s cancellation in 2012, but the company promptly denied the speculation.

VGLeaks states that Sony is intimately involved with the project, aiding with asset production among other tasks. We already know that Square Enix has struggled with high-definition game development, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that the manufacturer would step in to help. The platform holder has collaborated with a number of Eastern studios throughout the course of this generation, working on titles such as White Knight Chronicles with Level-5 and Soul Sacrifice with Marvellous AQL.

The rumour would put Shinji Hashimoto’s presence at last month’s PlayStation Meeting into perspective, too. During the show, the brand director took to the stage to confirm that a new Final Fantasy project would debut at E3. Could he have been referring to Final Fantasy XV? It doesn’t sound implausible, does it?

Of course, it’s always worth taking these rumours with a massive pinch of salt. VGLeaks broke a lot of information regarding the PS4 in the run up to its reveal, and its track record is reasonable – but that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s got this right. The announcement of an exclusive Final Fantasy game would certainly be a huge coup for Sony if correct, though – especially considering the turbulent landscape of third-party game development at the moment.

[source vgleaks.com]