Depressingly, Final Fantasy 15’s director is making a Metaverse JRPG

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 15’s director is now unfortunately heading up a Metaverse-based game.

Earlier this week, Hajima Tabata took to his personal Facebook page to announce new details of the ‘Japan Metaverse Economic Forum’ project. In relation to the newly-revealed Metaverse project in Japan, Tabata’s company will create a new RPG based alongside the new platform.

“This is the project that we had envisioned when JP GAMES was first established, a project to create a new RPG in which users and companies coexist in harmony,” Tabata writes. “Times have moved on, and it is easier to call it a metaverse. My company has also become a group company. I will try to expand the possibilities of games more.”

This RPG project is currently going by the name “Ryugukoku,” and is set to allow players to explore a vast fantasy world. A press release from earlier this week revealed the RPG has moving cities, castles, and vehicles, as well as a variety of different realms.

Whether you like Final Fantasy 15 or not, I think we can all agree it’s a bit of a shame to see the director of the Square Enix powerhouse RPG set his sights on the Metaverse. I can’t help but wish Tabata had gone the route of Hironobu Sakaguchi, departing a blockbuster company in Square Enix to create more personal, small-scale RPG adventures via an independent company.

Instead, we’re left with whatever mess this Metaverse project will end up being (rest assured, it’s going to be a mess, just look at how the Metaverse bet is paying off for Mark Zuckerberg). Speaking of nightmare creations, Square Enix unveiled its first NFT game earlier this week, and it looks like an absolute horror that no one is quite ready for. Or understands, for that matter.

Hey, at least we can still look forward to Final Fantasy 16 in June, a game with zero NFT or Metaverse attachments.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.