Final Fantasy XV's story disappointments will be tackled via patch alongside other issues

Final Fantasy XV is pretty good, but one of our major complaints about the game in our review is how despite featuring one of the best-written main casts in the FF series the game also features some incredibly paper-thin plotting that often feels unfinished and confusing.

In a somewhat unusual step Square Enix has today announced their 'Update roadmap' for FF15 - and one of the key issues the game will tackle with its patches and updates will be attempting to fill the story gaps that left players wanting or confused.

"We will enhance the presentation of the second half of the game, and further enhance the satisfaction level of the story experience," game director Hajime Tabata wrote on the official Square Enix blog. "Since we’re doing localization work to have voice support in all languages for the the added event scenes, we’re taking this on as a mid-term goal."

This is something of an unusual and unprecedented step for the game, though it's one we've sort of seen before with Bioware's response to fan backlash in the wake of Mass Effect 3's ending. The timing of this announcement suggests to us that Square Enix knew there was a problem that'd need to be addressed prior to launch, however - it took Bioware several weeks to really see the critical mass of fan anger and respond to it - this has arrived barely a week from launch.

Tabata's message to the fans also thanks them for buying the game and details other things the company will address in patches, including:

• Chapter 13, the worst chapter in the game - it'll be rebalanced and tweaked to make it more bearable
• Making important story characters playable
• An avatar system for creating characters
• New game plus
• UI improvements and additional options
• The previously-announced DLC support

Here's Tabata's statement in full, via our buddies at Gematsu.

Thank you for playing Final Fantasy XV. Having shipped five million copies worldwide, Final Fantasy XV was truly able to achieve great results. To the many of you who purchased the game, I would like to express my sincerest thanks.

Currently, I am hearing that an exceedingly large bunch of players around the world are enjoying the game to their heart’s content. All of the staff are truly happy that with how content users are with this new way to play Final Fantasy.

As promised from before release, Final Fantasy XV is not going to be released and then that’s the end of it. From here one, we will continue to update the game to provide a richer gameplay experience to players around the world. And as thanks for surpassing five million copies, we decided to strengthen the update plan considerably beyond what we originally planned, and will share a concrete roadmap.

These are short-term, mid-term, and long-term updates separate from the previously reported downloadable content that make the Final Fantasy XV gameplay experience even richer and get you playing longer, together with updates based on requests from players after release, that we will offer free of charge.

Final Fantasy XV Update Roadmap

Short-term goals

First, we will further increase the gameplay satisfaction level of Chapter 13. For that reason, we have already started work on many enhancements, such as significantly enhancing the power of ring magic and so on. We will announce details on these enhancements and when we plan to offer this update at a later time.

Mid-term goals

We will enhance the presentation of the second half of the game, and further enhance the satisfaction level of the story experience. For example, we plan to add event scenes that depict things like, “Why does the character Ravus follow that fate?” Since we’re doing localization work to have voice support in all languages for the the added event scenes, we’re taking this on as a mid-term goal. Project details will be announced once they have been decided.

Long-term goals

We will make important characters that appear in the main story of the game available to use as playable characters. Also, we will consider adding an avatar system to create an original character to play the game. In addition to this, we plan to actively continue updates so that players can enjoy Final Fantasy XV over a long period of time.

Others

Play a new game while carrying over your status from a cleared game. We will offer various items that expand the breadth of gameplay, like for low-level clears and invincible suits. We will increase the font size so that messages are easier to read. We will offer content such as boss battles complete with rewards and achievements, limited time mob hunts, etc. in order for you to enjoy the game live.

It should be noted that the already announced downloadable content will be released as originally planned.

• FFXV Holiday Pack
• FFXV Booster Pack
• FFXV Episode Gladiolus
• FFXV Episode Ignis
• FFXV Episode Prompto
• FFXV Online Expansion Pack: Companion

On behalf of the staff and all players around the world, we hope you will enjoy Final Fantasy XV even more. Thank you for your continued support for Final Fantasy XV and the Final Fantasy series.

FFXV Director Hajime Tabata