Square Enix's Plans For Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3

Square Enix's new CEO, Takahashi Kiryu, made quite an impression at the Final Fantasy XVI launch event with his speech and vision for the FF series. Final Fantasy fans appreciated what he said and got the impression that he had a clear vision for the company’s future. However, he knew that achieving new targets takes time and a lot of ups and downs. His decision reflected this, and in May 2024, with a renewed emphasis on quality rather than quantity, Square Enix only planned to release a slew of quality games.

Not only that, but we are certainly seeing a shift in their approach to multi-platform strategy because Takahashi Kiryu was also at the Final Fantasy XIV fanfest alongside Phil Spencer to announce that Final Fantasy XIV was finally coming to Xbox. So it appears that 2024 has been a year for Square Enix to gradually implement some of the ideas and changes that they had hoped to accomplish under the new.

Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth discussed with Epic Games that the game's story DLC will not be produced because Square Enix prioritized the third and final entry over allocating more resources to develop a DLC. They also wanted to add an episodic story as a new DLC to the PC edition, but owing to limited resources, they had to complete the next game in the project as soon as possible, which was their top priority.

However, Hamaguchi mentioned that if they receive strong requests from the community after the release about specific issues, they would like to consider them. This indicates that if fans want a DLC once the third part is released, they are likely to provide it as long as the demand exists.

It's worth noting that after the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake in 2020, an improved PS5 and PC version called Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was released. This version included a new DLC addition called Episode INTERmission. It was reported this week that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which was published on PS5 in February 2024, will be available on PC on 23 January 2025. So they're likely attempting to mimic what they accomplished with Final Fantasy 7 Remake. They would have done it with Rebirth, but resources were restricted, so they couldn't.

At least Square Enix decided not to, presuming it is because of their desire to be more profitable and generate more revenue. The only way to make more revenue is to release new games. In terms of DLC, fewer individuals are likely to purchase DLC for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth than those who would purchase the third and final entry. DLC sales are nowhere near those of the full game.

However, Squire Enix still has certain matters to be revealed. If it’s the third and final entry, what will the new version be titled? How will the game conclude this very distinct look at an original, a classic, and a game that helped mold the industry in that genre, storytelling, and RPGs? Since Final Fantasy 7 was a huge mainstay in RPGs and storytelling, and it spawned a slew of fantastic products after it. So, this is a situation in which Squire Enix will want to provide the best project possible.

Final Fantasy has obtained both critical and economic success. Many of the editions are considered to be one of the best video games, and the series has sold over 185 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The series is known for its innovative visuals, which include full-motion films and photo-realistic character models, along with the soundtrack of Nobuo Uematsu. It popularized many of the features that are now common in role-playing games and, in fact, the genre as a whole in markets outside of Japan.

Nonetheless, Squire Enix will also want to release Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 sooner rather than later in the hopes of putting some DLC afterward, so many of the fans are on the same page as far as Sunao Yamaguchi and what he said about the game and the plans for making this a very ambitious project and the best experience yet.