Final Fantasy XIII's battle designers removed magic points because they felt MP costs made players hold back their strongest spells, which made fights less interesting. The Paradigm system was built so that players switch party roles quickly, since enemy groups were designed to force those changes. The project began in 2004 as a PlayStation 2 game, then moved to the PlayStation 3 in 2005 after the team saw a strong reception for a Final Fantasy VII tech demo. It also switched to a new engine that Square Enix hoped would speed later development, though it caused delays.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.