I’m assuming you’ve played Final Fantasy XV until the end. You remember the ending of Final Fantasy XV, right? Still fresh in your mind? If not, here’s a recap:
Noctis ascends the throne and gives his life to end the eternal night that has consumed Eos by channeling the power of the past kings and Crystal’s light. Returning to the Astral Realm, Noctis teams up with Lunafreya and his ancestors to destroy Ardyn’s spirit. The True King and the Ring of the Lucii fade away as peace is restored to the world. The sun rises, daemons disappear, and the spirits of Noctis and Lunafreya fall asleep on the Lucian throne.
Tabata and company explicitly expressed this ending to be up for interpretation. But what if the leaker spoiled the ending? If you don’t know, or can’t remember, a leaker on 4chan exposed the hectic development cycle, as s/he expressed they frantically rushed about to finish the game by the deadline. They did, thankfully and it turned out great.
But the 4chan leaker also exposed much of Final Fantasy XV’s story, including some of the main details. When asked “Will Noctis become a King?”, s/he responds:
I guess you could say he becomes King, but doesn’t have much to rule over by the end
Not much, eh? What’s that supposed to mean? So then, what about the ending? Noctis and Luna were specifically sitting on a throne during their wedding ceremony. Right? Well, maybe. But this would technically be something for them to rule over, which the leaker states that he doesn’t.
Perhaps the game is trying to relate something else. Maybe, after Noctis lost his kingdom to Ardyn, he also lost his life. Maybe, there is no afterlife that is an alternative reality to Noctis world.
I don’t like this interpretation, and of course, maybe even this too is up for debate?