For a long time now Final Fantasy XV has been the gift that keeps on giving, spawning so much content, ports, and special editions of these ports that the Square Enix title had begun to rival Skyrim. Unfortunately, all good things must end, though it appears that the Japanese publisher is pulling the plug a bit early on the latest numbered title in its iconic series. It has been announced that the upcoming second season of DLC – sans Episode Ardyn – has been canceled.

The news comes by way of Gematsu, which reported that Square Enix had halted development on Episode Aranea, Episode Lunafreya, and Episode Noctis, three of the four DLC episodes promised for ‘season 2’ of Final Fantasy XV. The news comes at the same time as the announcement that game director Hajime Tabata is leaving both Square Enix and Luminous Productions. In fact, Tabata had already exited the studio as of October 31, though his departure was just recently announced.

During a recent stream, Final Fantasy XV global brand director Akio Ofuji addressed the shakeup, providing some insight as to why the DLC was canceled:

Allow me to provide additional insight into what we mean by a directional change for the company. A new company called Luminous Productions was formed, centered around the staff who had previously been developing the main game as part of Business Division 2, and the have continued to work on the project since. The main purpose of establishing Luminous Productions was to create a studio that can deliver a completely new AAA title to the global market. And due to this directional change, the company has decided to focus our resources on the development of this AAA title. This resulted in the decision to cancel the production of three out of the four DLCs originally planned and introduced.”

The actual reason behind Tabata’s departure from Square Enix and Luminous Studios is unknown, though it is likely that the cancelling of 75% of the upcoming Final Fantasy XV DLC at the very least hastened his leaving. Here’s what Tabata had to say about his next steps:

In regards to my next endeavors and near future, I have a project that I truly wish to solidify as my next challenge after Final Fantasy XV. For that reason, I have decided to leave my current position and start my own business in order to achieve my goal.

As production of “Episode Ardyn” continues and Luminous Productions works on new projects, I felt that it was time for me to hand over the torch to the next generation group of talented and trustworthy colleagues and believe that they will create something amazing. From this day on, I will cheer on and support Square Enix and Luminous Productions together with all of you fans.”

Episode Ardyn is expected to arrive in March 2019. As for what AAA title Luminous Productions is now working on, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Final Fantasy XV is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

So, thoughts on the cancelling of the upcoming FFXV DLC? How do you feel about Hajime Tabata leaving Square Enix? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!