Final Fantasy Versus XIII "is no more", according to a report from Kotaku.
Kotaku cites its several reliable sources as providing them confirmation that Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been officially cancelled. The cancellation occured within the last few weeks, and the decision has apparently "impacted morale at Square Enix", with staff "reportedly saddened by the move".
Their source had added that Square Enix also decided to let Final Fantasy Versus XIII "die quietly on the vine and fade away", instead of the company officially announcing its cancellation at the risk of fan public backlash and the potential for Square Enix's stock prices to plummet.
Another source of Kotaku supposedly believes that a few months back, Versus's development and resources had actually been folded into another game, which is to be the next numeric Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy XV, and the topic of whether or not it was actual game assets and code or simply the movement of staff was unclear.
This information was independently corroborated by yet another source, though it's important to note both had learned of the "folding" prior to the more recent news of its outright cancellation.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII was originally unveiled at E3 back in 2006. For the last six years, there's been little bits of information or mentions released over time. One of the two latest instances in which Square Enix discussed the game in an official capacity was in the March issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, in which Final Fantasy Versus XIII designer Tetsuya Nomura commented on its progress.
"We're almost done with preparing the latest info for the game," Nomura said. "Because of a totally unrelated reason, there are circumstances in which that info cannot be released."
Then, in May in Game Informer, Nomura said: "We would like to ask for your patience on an official announcement for this title. It always takes time when tackling the challenge of doing something completely new, but we are doing our best to bring information to the fans as quickly as we can. Your patience is greatly appreciated."
However, E3 2012 came and went and another year passed with no mention of the title.
Square Enix's official reponse to Kotaku's follow up questioning from their report was the standard procedure: "We have no information on the status of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but will be sure to update you as it becomes available."
So, whether or not Versus has indeed been cancelled quietly, surely Square Enix will utilise its assets and staff to continue work on another project? Only time will tell.
Source: Kotaku
By Nathan Misa- Writer Bio