Final Fantasy 15 Comrades Multiplayer DLC Faces Another Delay

The Final Fantasy 15 Comrades, multiplayer DLC is delayed once again. The DLC missed its initial Halloween release date and missed its following Nov. 7 release date. Players can now expect Comrades on Nov. 15:

Comrades takes place after Final Fantasy 15’s infamous Chapter 13. As Noctis sleeps in a crystal cocoon with Bahamut telling him sweet bedtime stories about Astrals and destiny, players create their own member of the Kingsglaive to play in the “World of Ruin.” The Kingsglaive are elite royal guards who must become peacekeepers in a world dominated by monsters. Players can customize their own avatars and team up with up to three friends on quests and missions, with a future update planned that will allow players to journey with Gladio, Prompto and Ignis.

Square Enix has not yet announced a price point for Comrades as a standalone DLC, though it’s included in the game’s all-expansion Season Pass. You can check out the official TGS 2017 trailer below for a taste of the action:

Players will need to be a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold member in order to play online.

Square Enix released a new update that adds Xbox One X support to Final Fantasy 15 on Nov. 5, as well as a new feature that allows players to accept multiple quests. That feature arrives on PlayStation 4 on Nov. 10.

While Episode Ignis, the story-driven DLC coming this December, was supposed to be the game’s final expansion, player demand means director Hajime Tabata will continue to work on Final Fantasy 15 DLC throughout 2018. The new content is expected to resolve parts of the main story that may have lacked context or detail. Other characters may also be explored via new story-driven episodes, but Tabata notes that the game world must be properly established in order to fully tell the characters’ stories.

Meanwhile, Square Enix’s latest annual report revealed the company’s embrace of a new kind of player experience which adds context to its decision to continue developing Final Fantasy 15 DLC. “Gone are the days in which single-player games were of primary status and multiplayer games secondary,” states the report.

“Lately, multiplayer games have taken the lead, and it is standard for games to be designed for long-term play. The terms ‘multiplayer’ and ‘Games as a Service’ themselves have existed for some time, but they are now being used in reference to game designs that place a strong emphasis on longer-term user engagement. We will also endeavor to develop games designed not to be played once after launch but that customers can enjoy more and play longer. In so doing, we will increase customer satisfaction and enhance the lifetime value of the games themselves.”

We can see the new strategy at work in Final Fantasy 15, whose many tentacles have rapidly grown to embrace a full-length CG movie, a short anime series, several mobile phone apps, a full PC port, a VR expansion, ongoing updates and exclusive, seasonal events such as the Moogle Chocobo Carnival and Assassin’s Creed festival in addition to story-based DLC character episodes, lore expansions and collectibles.

What do you think of the Comrades delay? How about Square Enix’s pivot to “games as a service”? Are you more interested in Episode Ignis and further story DLC? Feel free to let us know your thoughts on all things Square Enix and Final Fantasy 15 in the comments section below.