'Final Fantasy XV' Will Get Four More DLC Episodes, Including Ardyn, Luna and Aranea

Square Enix dropped some major news for Final Fantasy XV fans at PAX East on Friday, confirming it will produce new content for the game through at least summer 2019.

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The biggest announcements to come from the developer's panel at PAX East are undoubtedly the four new DLC episodes, focusing on Ardyn, Lunafreya, Aranea and Noctis. It seems as though this new content will present fans with an alternate version of the Final Fantasy XV story, described during the panel as "a future everyone longed for." This alteration or addition to the game's story may see Ardyn and Noctis as allies rather than enemies.

The new DLC is tenatively scheduled to release between winter 2018 and summer 2019. Here's Square Enix's brief description of the upcoming content, courtesy of the FFXV subreddit:

• Episode Ardyn: The Concept of the Sage - Focuses on the struggles of Ardyn and the resentment he harbored over 2,000 years.
• Episode I Aranea: The Beginning of the End - This episode will center on the final day of the Empire, Aranea's worst day ever.
• Episode II Lunafreya: The Choice of Freedom - This story examine Lunafreya's fate to overturn the destiny of the one she loves (aka Noctis).
• Episode III Noctis: The Final Strike - Noctis parts ways with the Astrals and embarks on a final journey for the ideal future.

During the panel, Square Enix announced the following updates would be coming to the game this spring (meaning in a matter of weeks).

• Mod organizer
• Switch Noctis with a customized character
• Ability to see the "ghost" of other custom characters in your game
• Users will be able to leave items for other players to find

During the summer months, the FFXV team has big plans in store for the Comrades multiplayer expansion, ahead of the release of a level editor this fall. These include:

• Comrades Boss Editions (Gilgamesh, Square Enix CEO)
• Comrades Raid Boss (Super boss)
• Comrades Battle Challange - multiple bosses at once
• Comrades will be a standalone game this summer

Square Enix further gestured toward this storyline of the "future everyone longed for" by revealing some gorgeous new key art for the game, depicting the characters from the game enjoying a picnic with the story's primary antagonist, Ardyn. It's difficult to tell at this point if the youngsters in the picture are the wee versions of Luna and Noctis, or their children. (Also, what's happening with Gladio here?)

This wouldn't be the first time Final Fantasy XV has toyed with the concept of alternate realities. Episode Ignis, released back in December, presented a dramatically different fate for Noctis than the main campaign. The team behind the game also discussed alternate timelines back at GDC 2017, which we wrote about in detail here. Be sure to check out the PAX East panel rundown from the FFXV subreddit as well, as there's likely to be some smart speculation about what to expect from these new additions.

Which of these upcoming additions to FFXV are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!