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The Final Fantasy series, one of the longest running franchises in gaming history, is expanding with yet another sequel in the form of Final Fantasy XIII-2, currently under development for release "next winter" in English regions.

While last year's Final Fantasy XIII was met with a largely positive response from the gaming press, there's no doubt that certain areas of the game needed improving, and Square Enix hope to do just that in the sequel:

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 is currently in production with an aim for producing high quality game content which exceeds FINAL FANTASY XIII in every aspect; namely, a brand-new story which stems from the previous title as well as a battle system which has evolved further since XIII – and more.

There isn't much to go on regarding the story line, but according to Wired.com, Final Fantasy XIII-2 will pick up right where the last game left off, with Lightning, and a bunch of new characters, doing their bit to help protect the peace.

Expect to hear more as we approach that rather vague "next winter" release window, but in the meantime, Square Enix has left us with this solitary screenshot to peak our interest even further.