Final Fantasy XV Was Delayed Due To Frame Rate Dips, Optimization Issues

Frame rate dips and issues with optimization were among the reasons Square Enix chose to postpone Final Fantasy XV earlier this month, pushing the long-gestating JRPG back further still – this time, to November 29.

That’s according to Game Director Hajime Tabata, who spoke candidly to Famitsu – as relayed by Kotaku – regarding the situation. It was here that the executive developer also took the opportunity to allay fears that FFXV will succumb to launch issues, stating, “we are going to fix the issues, another thing is that I also wanted to refine the game balance.”

Part and parcel of that strategy will be to fold the day-one patch into the base game itself, ensuring that those players in territories like South Africa and even Japan – Tabata-san noted that upwards of 20 percent of Japanese players don’t connect their consoles to the Internet – can enjoy a stable experience come November 29 without needing to download said update.

Said Tabata: “For starters, the optimization isn’t [yet] sufficient. There are also various bugs as well as places in which the frame rate drops.” Later in the interview, the developer goes on to reveal that “there are still of number of bugs like characters floating unnaturally in the air or appearing all strange [and glitchy].”

Final Fantasy XV will emerge blinking into the sun on November 29. Square’s JRPG is booked in for release across Xbox One and PS4 and will even incorporate some elements of VR play with Sony’s PlayStation VR. Optimization has taken priority at Square, though, so don’t expect any additional details on that particular mode until closer to release.