New Final Fantasy titles are in the works, but Square is still working on that one opening scene of Final Fantasy 7 Remake
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Final Fantasy recently had an anniversary event which gave us a lot of small and silly Final Fantasy stories to share.
However, it also gave Japanese press the chance to chat with Square Enix about the Final Fantasy franchise. Famitsu has a couple of interesting interviews, including one with Final Fantasy series brand manager Shinji Hashimoto, in which he was asked if there are any new Final Fantasy games in the works, given the lack of major announcements at the anniversary event.
“Of course there are new titles in production," Hashimoto said, according to Gematsu's translation.
"This event was a ceremony to raise the curtain on the 30th anniversary, in other words an ‘opening ceremony.’ We’re preparing various projects from hereon. We’re preparing some announcements — and not just limited to home games."
It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Square Enix will be making more Final Fantasy games or, as the bit about home consoles suggests, that it will continue to bring the series to mobile and other platforms in the future, either.
No idea when we'll hear about these games, though; Famitsu dropped a heavy hint that it had expected to see a Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date, given that Final Fantasy 7 turns 20 this year, and Hashimoto relented enough to suggest we might hear something soon-ish.
“Of course, there won’t be zero news. Basically, I still can’t say anything, but there might be something from Kitase," he said, referring to Yoshinori Kitase, producer on Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Unfortunately, in a separate Famitsu interview translated by Siliconera, Kitase did not exactly suggest the project is zooming along.
"We’re currently brushing up the scene from the announcement trailer. We can now see the line of quality that we’re aiming for more clearly, but there’s still a ways to go," he said.
If we're interpreting that correctly, Square Enix is still putting together target footage, meaning production hasn't actually kicked off. That certainly matches up with earlier comments that Final Fantasy 7 still has a way to go.
Kitase went on to make a comment about raising the quality bar part way through Final Fantasy 7 Remake's episodic release if a new generation of consoles is released. that should give you an idea of the time frame Square is expecting.
If the idea of waiting for an episodic series to finish through multiple console generations worries you, you're not alone; Famitsu asked how Square would fill in the gaps between Final Fantasy 7 Remake episodes. Kitase didn't have a solid answer, but said the publisher will find a way "to supplement those gaps to maintain interest" given that "the game volumes won’t be something that we can release in just a few months".
A few years back Square Enix boss Yosuke Matsuda said he didn't want to keep fans waiting endless years (and whole console generations) between announce and release any more, which is probably one of the reasons why Tetsuya Nomura was booted off Final Fantasy 15 sometime after the whole name change from Final Fantasy Versus 13 thing. But Matsuda only has been incumbent for less than four years, and it seems the publisher still moves at Square Enix time for now.
In short: Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake are both a long way off. Factor them into your retirement plans, perhaps.