Final Fantasy XV was one of the more divisive entries in the long-running RPG series. Despite a mixed reaction to its story and presentation, it was very well received by critics, who praised its visuals, soundtrack by Yoko Shimamura, and new spin on the franchise’s combat system. Selling nearly 10 million copies to date, the game’s director Hajime Tabata took the helm from Tetsuya Nomura in 2013 and shocked fans when he announced he would leave Square Enix in 2018, leaving three of four planned DLCs for Final Fantasy XV canceled. In January 2019, he started his own studio JP Games, which has only announced one game to date. However, it looks like Tabata has been hard at work on another mystery project set to be revealed sometime in 2022.
The remarks were made in a recent interview with 4Gamer, and while details are scarce, it’s almost certain to be a JRPG given Tabata’s past and the current game climate. Previously, JP Games released The Pegasus Dream Tour, a mobile title themed around the 2020 Summer Paralympics. As unique and unexpected as this was, a glance at Tabata‘s past shows how passionate he is about the role-playing genre, having previously worked on Final Fantasy 7 Before Crisis and Crisis Core, Final Fantasy Type-0, and Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius. Tabata also mentioned his interest in expanding JP Games’ business both in games and in the metaverse, though what he means by the latter is unclear.
In January 2021, JP Games teamed up with All Nippon Airways (ANA) for a unique new project, allowing users to travel in virtual spaces using their smartphones. These spaces will mimic actual cities recreated using CG. In June, an interview with Famitsu revealed that Tabata was hard at work on two large-scale games, with one being described as a ‘high-speed and experimental RPG’ and the other called only a ‘nomadic AAA RPG.’ The latter was described as an evolved version of Final Fantasy XV that will focus on free exploration.
