Final Fantasy XV uncovered: all the news on the game, the movie, the anime, and more

Hajime Tabata wants to put Final Fantasy back on top.

As the director of Final Fantasy XV, Tabata has a difficult task ahead of him. While the Final Fantasy name is still well known, over the years it has lost much of its luster, and more recent releases haven’t captured the imagination of players the way the series once did on the SNES and original PlayStation. Final Fantasy is no longer a system-seller. But with XV, there’s a sense that that could change. Though the game has been in the works for a decade and doesn’t launch until September, it has garnered a level of attention that harkens back to the franchise’s glory days. People are excited about the series again: and Tabata thinks he knows why.

Whether it’s Triple Triad or chocobo racing, minigames have been some of the best-loved elements of the Final Fantasy series, and you’ll be able to check out one from Final Fantasy XV soon... on your phone, at least. JusticeMonstersFive, a pinball-style game, is getting a mobile release across iOS, Android, and Windows 10.

In keeping with what appears to be the central theme of Final Fantasy XV — chill bros driving around and hanging out despite the world collapsing around them — you can play the in-game version of JusticeMonstersFive by visiting an arcade and finding the pinball machine.

It’s finally happening: the first big Final Fantasy in years has a release date. At a lavish event in Los Angeles this evening, developer Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy XV will launch worldwide on September 30th. It had previously been pegged for some time this year, and the game is coming to both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Of course, there are special editions for the game, each including additional items. The Deluxe Edition will feature the game, the new CG movie Kingsglaive on Blu-ray, some bonus in-game content, and a steelbook for housing the discs. The Ultimate Collector’s Edition, meanwhile, will have all that plus an art book, a Play Arts figure, and more (see the full offerings below). Only 30,000 units of that ultra-premium edition will be shipped worldwide. The Deluxe Edition and Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be available for pre-order from Square Enix’s online store tonight at midnight ET / 9PM PT.

You don’t have to wait to get a taste of Final Fantasy XV. At its “Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV” event in Los Angeles tonight, Square Enix not only announced a new demo for the upcoming RPG, but also made it available right after as a free download on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. That means it’s much more accessible than the first demo for the game, which was only available to those who bought the upgraded console port of PSP game Final Fantasy Type-0.

Unlike most game demos, FF XV’s latest — which is called the “Platinum demo” — isn’t taken from the main game. Instead, it’s a small, standalone experience that gives you a feel for how FF XV will play, while at the same time telling its own (brief) story. And that story is actually quite strange, taking place in the mind of main character Noctis when he was still a young boy.

If you were on the fence about Final Fantasy XV, the latest trailer might just change your mind. The new clip shows the game at its most epic and bizarre, jumping back and forth between awe-inspiring battles and strange, personal moments. There are familiar FF sights like chocobos and airships, but also brand new elements like mechs and a massive monster that looks ripped straight out of Attack on Titan. You’ll see the main cast of four friends do everything from push a broken down car down the street to play pinball together. Toward the end the music shifts to a stirring rendition of “Stand By Me” sung by Florence Welch.

It’s almost hard to imagine how all of this can be from the same game, but you’ll be able to find out how it all fits together when Final Fantasy XV launches later this year on Xbox One and PS4.

Final Fantasy XV isn’t just a game anymore: it’s also a movie. Today, Square Enix announced a feature length CG animated film called Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, which will tell a story that runs concurrently with the main game. It’s being directed by Takeshi Nozue, who previously co-directed one of Square’s earlier tie-in movies, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. According to Nozue, the core of the Kingsglaive team also worked on Advent Children.

The movie features voice performances from Lena Headey and Sean Bean, known for their roles as Cersei Lannister and Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, along with Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, who says that “probably 99 percent” of his decision to take the part was based on the presence of blue crystals in the plot.

Final Fantasy XV is getting its own anime series. Dubbed Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, the series is somewhat of a prequel, telling the story of main character Noctis and how he came to be friends with the three characters that he’ll be traveling with in the game. The series will consist of five, 10-minute-long episodes, and you won’t have to worry about importing a DVD or searching for bootlegs online — all episodes will be available for free on YouTube.

The series is being produced by A-1 Pictures, a Japanese animation studio best known for its work on series like Sword Art Online and Black Butler. Brotherhood won’t be the studio’s first video game adaptation, either, as A-1 has previously made anime series based on games like Persona and Valkyria Chronicles. According to Square Enix, the story of the new anime will tie directly to the latest demo for the game, which itself tells a story separate from the main FF XV.

For a game that’s been in the works for many, many years, we know surprisingly little about Final Fantasy XV — but that’s about to change. Tonight, starting at 7PM PT / 10PM ET, developer Square Enix will be hosting an hour-long event called “Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV,” which it says will “set the stage” for the game’s launch. The event is a surprisingly big deal; it’ll take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, which holds a hefty 6,300 people. The one thing we do know is that Square will finally be revealing the release date for the game, which is scheduled to launch on the Xbox One and PS4 some time this year. But expect plenty of other big announcements, too. The Verge will be there live covering all the news, and you’ll also be able to follow along with the stream above.