Final Fantasy XIII sequel announced

A sequel to Final Fantasy XIII will be released this year.

At Square Enix’s Japanese event yesterday, the publisher made the surprise announcement of Final Fantasy XIII-2, which will continue the adventures of last year’s hit RPG.

The game will be released in Japan before the end of the year, although no release date has been given for any other territory.

XIII-2 will be directed by Motomu Toriyama, who directed the original XIII. It is expected that Yoshinori Kitase will serve as producer again.

Final Fantasy XIII is the second title to receive a direct sequel in the series’ 23-year history, following the release of 2003’s Final Fantasy X-2.