Final Fantasy 15's 10th Anniversary Is Giving It the Second Chance It Deserves

Final Fantasy 15‘s 10th anniversary isn’t technically here until November 29, 2026, but it already feels like the game is getting the second chance I personally believe it deserved a long time ago. Maybe that’s just nostalgia doing what nostalgia does best, because 10 years is apparently long enough for even one of the most divisive modern Final Fantasy games to start feeling like a lost piece of someone’s life. However, the more I see players talking about Final Fantasy 15 again, the more I think this is about something more than people simply missing the experience they had with the game in 2016.

A recent Reddit post by user WeepTheHorizon asking whether Final Fantasy 15 is still worth playing in 2026 sums this up pretty well, because the question itself is loaded with all the unfortunate baggage this game still carries. The original poster mentions having heard about its controversial story, unfinished world, and fear of sinking time into something that never reaches its potential. However, many of the comments in the thread affirmed Final Fantasy 15 as a Final Fantasy game that is more than worth playing, despite how controversial of a take that may be. Meanwhile, other players across social media platforms like X have been declaring their love for the divisive entry and stating their plans to replay it in time for its 10th anniversary. In other words, Final Fantasy 15 isn’t getting a second chance because it’s suddenly fixing its problems, but because people are finally far enough away from the mess to consider what was actually worth loving about it.

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Final Fantasy 15 Was Always Better Than Its Reputation Suggested

Before I start confessing my undying love for Final Fantasy 15, let me go ahead and just kick this off with a more affirming take: I will openly admit that Final Fantasy 15 earned a lot of its criticism. This was a game that arrived after a notoriously weird road to release, having once existed as Final Fantasy Versus 13 before eventually becoming the 15th mainline entry. Then, by the time it finally launched for PS4 and Xbox One on November 29, 2016, there was no way for Final Fantasy 15 to just be a normal game. Instead, it had to carry years of expectation, confusion, reinvention, and probably far too many promises that no single game could cleanly satisfy.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

And somehow, it still worked more than it didn’t, and despite how it might sound to someone on the outside looking in, I’m not the only one who thinks that. That’s the part I think gets lost whenever Final Fantasy 15 is reduced to a “wasted potential” conversation. Yes, Final Fantasy 15‘s story is fragmented. Yes, important context lives outside the base game. Yes, some of the later chapters feel like the game suddenly remembers it has to finish the plot and starts shoving players toward the ending faster than it should.

Final Fantasy 15 isn’t getting a second chance because it’s suddenly fixing its problems, but because people are finally far enough away from the mess to consider what was actually worth loving about it.

But for a huge stretch of the game, Final Fantasy 15 has something that many modern RPGs never come close to having. It has a mood. It has a road trip that actually feels like a road trip. It has four friends sitting in a car, stopping at diners, camping under the stars, taking pictures, listening to old Final Fantasy music, and acting like people who have known each other long enough to be annoyed by each other without ever losing the love underneath it. Honestly, I could avoid the game’s combat and story entirely and just enjoy those long stretches of road alongside the bros. Maybe it’s something in me that needed fulfillment at the time, but I’m more keen to say it was probably just how relaxing and cozy Final Fantasy 15 could feel between its more chaotic moments.

And I’m not the only one who feels that way about the game either. In WeepTheHorizon’s aforementioned Reddit post, plenty of fans commented on the game being “chill,” with user far_257 accurately describing Final Fantasy 15 as “a game that rewards a chill, patient playthrough.” I couldn’t agree more, far_257. The same user went on to describe the game’s excellent use of ambience to establish its tone and atmosphere, which, again, was a massive part of the experience for me. Users Kitski and LeeHazuki also mentioned it made them cry at the end, which I can unashamedly relate to. Of course, none of that erases the bad parts, but it does explain why people keep coming back to it.

All of that said, Final Fantasy 15 is at its best when players stop treating it like a basic open-world game with a checklist of chores they need to finish if they hope to make any significant headway. The driving, fishing, camping, photography, and party banter can sound disposable when listed out like features, but in practice, those are the parts that give the game its heart. The more players rush toward the next main quest, the more Final Fantasy 15 starts looking like the incomplete game everyone warned them about. The more they slow down, the more it starts becoming something else.

And that’s also why Final Fantasy 15‘s Royal Edition and later updates matter. Final Fantasy 15 is still not some perfectly repaired version of itself, but it’s also not the exact same game people played at launch. Character episodes, Royal Edition additions, expanded combat options, and extra endgame content all helped make the full version feel more complete than the original release did, even if the missing pieces are still easy to spot.

Now Is the Right Time to Give Final Fantasy 15 Another Try

Just take my word for it when I say that this is probably the best year to revisit Final Fantasy 15 because it no longer needs to be anything but what it is. It doesn’t have to prove where the series is going, and it doesn’t have to stand in for whatever someone wishes Final Fantasy became after it. In 2026, with its 10th anniversary coming in November, it can just be the strange, gorgeous road trip RPG that a lot of players seem to miss more than they expected.

The more players rush toward the next main quest, the more Final Fantasy 15 starts looking like the incomplete game everyone warned them about. The more they slow down, the more it starts becoming something else.

In fact, that’s already starting to happen. MoreLimitless said on X that they plan on revisiting Final Fantasy 15 for its 10th anniversary later this year and dedicating a video to it, and that feels like the kind of thing we are probably going to see more of as November gets closer. They aren’t the only fans of the game who have made public commitments to replay the game this year either, as the sentiment regularly appeared in my X feed as I was doom-scrolling last week.

I think it’s more than worth a second chance at this point, especially for anyone patiently awaiting for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation‘s release. Final Fantasy 15 scratches a completely different itch than Remake or Rebirth, and that’s part of why it feels more valuable now. It’s slower, lonelier, and more interested in letting players sit with Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto until the party starts to feel like the actual reason to keep playing.

It also helps that Final Fantasy 15 has the Switch 2 conversation working in its favor right now. Square Enix hasn’t announced a Switch 2 version, but it has reportedly said bringing Final Fantasy 15 to the console is “not entirely impossible,” even with hardware hurdles involved. For a game already getting a 10th anniversary wave of attention, a possible Switch 2 release only makes this feel like the right time for people to come back. It really just needs players to slow down enough to see what still works, and 2026 feels like the year when more people are finally willing to do that.