Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

Developers
	Square Enix
	HexaDrive
	XPEC Entertainment
Publishers
	Square Enix
Engines
	Luminous Studio
Release dates
Windows	March 6, 2018
Reception
Metacritic	85
OpenCritic	81
IGDB	81
Taxonomy
Monetization	DLC, Sponsored
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person, First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	JRPG, RPG, Action, Open world
Vehicles	Automobile, Flight, Off-roading
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Fantasy, Sci-fi
Series	Final Fantasy

Key points

Includes everything from Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition, which contains all DLC released prior to PC release, alongside many additional new features, gameplay, and story content.

Features new Nvidia GameWorks rendering effects not previously seen in console releases.

A benchmark and demo are both available.

Supports Steam Workshop. Mod organizer is available here (for Origin and Microsoft Store). Steam version is available via Steam store.

General information

Square Enix support page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Disc contains about 8 GB of data, the rest (~80 GB) must be downloaded through Steam.
Publisher website
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Microsoft Store		Xbox Game Pass for PC
Origin
Steam

Steam and Origin versions use Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Powerup Pack	Pre-order exclusive on Microsoft Store.
Decal Selection	Pre-order exclusive on Origin.
Fashion Collection	Pre-order exclusive on Steam.
The Sims 4 Pack	Exclusive to Origin early purchasers. Ended 1st May 2018.
Half-Life Pack	Exclusive to Steam purchasers. Previously slated to be exclusive to early purchasers but was later changed to all Steam purchasers on 2nd May 2018.
High-Resolution Pack	Free high-resolution movies and textures.
Episode Ardyn	Ardyn's playable story.

Essential improvements

Special K - FFXV Mini-Mod

Allows users to block certain input devices to prevent the game from hitching every time it loads the icon for another input device.

Lowers the Steam API overhead of the game; provides more stable frame render times and shorter loading times on certain hardware configurations.

Includes options that fix thread scheduling options in some threads, that causes starvation on graphics/audio threads.

Game data

The Steam and Origin versions do not respect a relocated Documents folder unless symlinks are used.

You cannot move saves between the Microsoft Store version and Steam/Origin.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\39EA002F.FINALFANTASYXVforPC_n746a19ndrrjg\LocalState
Origin	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XV\Origin\savestorage\
Steam	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XV\Steam\<user-id>\savestorage\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/637650/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\39EA002F.FINALFANTASYXVforPC_n746a19ndrrjg\SystemAppData\wgs
Origin	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XV\Origin\savestorage\
Steam	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XV\Steam\<user-id>\savestorage\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/637650/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud		Save data can be cross-saved between Xbox and PC.

Video

Display settings.

Graphics settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		16:10 aspect ratios are letterboxed.
Multi-monitor		HUD is spanned.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		Up to 8K.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Exclusive fullscreen also available but may not work correctly, see Issues unresolved.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Only goes up to 8x in-game, set 16x in config file or force via GPU control panel.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		FXAA, TAA, SSAA and DLSS.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Presets for 30 FPS, 60 FPS and 120 FPS. See Frame rate (FPS).
High dynamic range display (HDR)		HDR10

Frame rate (FPS)

Unlock or set to desired framerate
Go to the configuration file location. Open GraphicsConfig.ini. Set MaxFramerate=xx (where XX is the desired value). Save and close the file. Notes Do not use 0 as this can cause a division by zero exception and crash the game.

Input

Mouse and keyboard settings.

Gamepad preset selection menu, displaying generic buttons. Xbox and DualShock buttons are also natively available.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		There seems to be a slight smoothing effect.[citation needed]
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		No cursor, instead you can move the selected option up or down by moving the mouse up or down.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		3 different presets.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		Found under the Camera section.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		Has native support, however using Steam input highly recommended. Steam input is officially supported with correct button prompts, but does additional stuff including introducing rumble support and fixing wireless adapter support.
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes	, Bluetooth not tested. Wireless adapter only d-pad/movement working.

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		Steam input and XInput only. Can be disabled.
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Rapidly changes button prompts.

Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, Music, SFX, Voice, Audio players.
Surround sound		Up to 7.1. Supports Spatial Audio (Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos HRTF).
Subtitles		Option to display speaker names also available.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Latin American Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play
Online play		4	Co-op

Windows Store version supports crossplay with Xbox One.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Devices
Tobii Eye Tracking

Issues fixed

Game does not save

Add ffxv_s.exe to anti-virus exceptions

Stuttering

Downgrade Steam version to v1.25

Game patches after version 1.25 introduced severe stuttering in the Steam version of the game. This issue is not present in the Microsoft Store or Origin versions.

In order to solve this, you must roll back the game to version 1.25. Savegames saved on any update after 1.25 cannot be rolled back, and will not work on version 1.25. However, existing saves will not be modified by the rollback process. Updating the game renders them playable again (albeit with the same stuttering issues). Updating the game also does not, by itself, modify existing saves. So long as you don't overwrite any save made prior to version 1.25, they will remain playable upon rolling back again.

Be warned that DLC content "Episode Ardyn" will not be accessible from version 1.25. You may however play the entire game, including previous DLC episodes, up to Episode Ardyn and then update the game. It is recommended to make a back-up save on a different save slot before updating the game, so that you may go back to version 1.25 and continue playing the game up to before Episode Ardyn without performance issues.

Nvidia DLSS functionality will also be removed.

Roll back to version 1.25

Make sure you have at least 18GB of free storage available in the drive where you installed the Steam client. Right click on your Steam shortcut, click properties and add -console after Steam target. Launch Steam and click the "CONSOLE" tab, visible in the Steam client's top bar (alongside Store, Library, etc.) Insert the following console command, then press ↵ Enter: download_depot 637650 637651 8904421868518945116 7368819816363508111 It will begin to download the package to the Steam/steamapps/content folder located in your Steam Client's install location, in a folder named app_637650 slightly over 17GB. You can check your Steam Downloads section to make sure your network is downloading the package. You should see network activity, even though no downloads will be listed. When the download is complete you will recieve a message on the Steam console. Copy the contents of the depot_637651 folder (located within the aforementioned app_637650 folder) to your game folder and replace all files when prompted. The game is now on version 1.25. You may start it normally. All savegames will be visible, but only those created on version 1.25 or earlier will remain playable while on version 1.25. Notes Downgrading via Steam itself does not work anymore. Tools like SteamCMD (by Valve) or DepotDownloader (third party tool) need to be used instead to download the depot.

Increase pagefile size

Final Fantasy XV uses heavy resources on a PC's paging file, which acts as alternate virtual RAM.

If the paging file is set too low (such as a maximum of 2 GB), this can act as a performance bottleneck, resulting in frequent stutters while exploring. This is especially true if the system's RAM is 8 GB and under. Increasing the paging file size (such as from 2 GB to 8 GB) can drastically improve performance and reduce stutters.

Increase pagefile size

Open start menu, type "run" and use run command. Enter systempropertiesadvanced. Go to "Advanced" tab and click settings. Go to "Advanced" and choose "programs" instead of "background services". Under virtual memory, click change. Uncheck "Automatically manage paging file for all drives" at the top. Select custom size. Although there is no definitive paging file size, try making the initial and maximum both 12288. Click OK and restart your computer. Try the game to see if performance is improved.

Disable button prompts

This is an alternative to disabling input devices with the Special K mod, see Essential improvements.

Disable the "Guide" in the in-game settings

Blurry visuals/graphical artifacts on non-standard resolutions

In-game screenshot showing graphical issues on the left and correct rendering on the right.

Playing the game in rather uncommon resolutions (4:3 or 16:10 aspect ratios) can cause rendering issues which are noticeable by odd shadows on top of textures and ghosting around characters (see picture). Multiple ways of fixing the issue are available.

Disable ambient occlusion
Notes Disabling and then enabling it again also works until the next loading screen.

Increase resolution scaling
Lower the in-game resolution. Increase the render resolution to 200%. Notes Visual result may not be optimal, increased performance impact.

Create a custom 16:9 resolution via the GPU control panel and switch to it on the desktop and in-game.
Notes Make sure the GPU does not scale/stretch the resolution to avoid blurring. Although this will cause additional pillarboxing.

Issues unresolved

Exclusive fullscreen not available

Setting the "Fullscreen" option to "On" should enable exclusive fullscreen, however on some configurations the game may still run in borderless windowed mode. A possible workaround is to use the Special K framework (see Essential improvements) and select "Fullscreen Mode" in the display tab of the Special K control panel.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Modifications

More responsive NVIDIA Turf Effects grass + longer lasting trails

Small edit to the responsiveness and longevity of flattened grass. Requires NVIDIA Turf Effects to be enabled.

ffxvDitherPatch

This utility allows you to narrow the terrain blending (dithering) effect.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7 SP1	8.1, 10 Creators Update (4K HDR)
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5-2500 3.3 GHz AMD FX-6100 3.3 GHz	Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 GHz (4K HDR) AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz (4K HDR)
System memory (RAM)	8 GB	16 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	100 GB	155 GB (4K HDR)
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 AMD Radeon R9 280 DirectX 11 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 AMD Radeon RX 480 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (4K HDR) 6 GB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectSound compatible
Other	Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos support

These recommended specs are for 1080p 30 FPS. Recommended specs for 4K 30 FPS and 1440p 60 FPS with HDR are noted with (4K HDR) and can be found at the official website.