Summary: Final Fantasy XV is an upcoming open world action role-playing video game being developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and scheduled for a worldwide release on November 29, 2016. It is the fifteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, and shares a thematic connection with Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos which includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0. It is a major departure from previous games, providing a darker atmosphere that focuses on more realistic environments and human characters than previous entries. XV takes place on Eos, a world similar to modern-day Earth. All the world's countries—bar the kingdom of Lucis—are under the dominion of the empire of Niflheim. Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir to the Lucian throne, goes on a quest to retake his homeland and its magical crystal after it is seized by Niflheim on the eve of peace negotiations between the two nations. The game features an open-world environment and action-based battle system similar to the Kingdom Hearts series and Type-0, incorporating the ability to switch weapons and other elements such as vehicle travel and camping. The development cycle of Final Fantasy XV began in 2006, when it was a PlayStation 3-exclusive spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and lasted approximately ten years. Tetsuya Nomura served as the original director and designer, creating the characters and story concept. In 2012, it was internally rebranded as the next mainline title and shifted to eighth generation platforms. Nomura was eventually replaced as director by Hajime Tabata. To expand the story without developing additional video games, a multimedia project called the "Final Fantasy XV Universe" was created: its products included an online anime series and a feature film.