Square Enix Initiates Huge Final Fantasy VII Remake Shake-Up

Development of Square Enix’s Fanal Fantasy VII Remake has been moved in-house and the company is desperately recruiting staff to work on the game. Until now, development of FFVIIR has been outsourced to CyberConnect2, developer of the Naruto series. Instead, the game will now be overseen by Square Enix’s Naoki Hamaguchi, who took charge of Mobius Final Fantasy.

Square Enix Wants “Quality” Controls

In a promotional YouTube stream for Mobius Final Fantasy, Hamaguchi revealed Square Enix is bringing FFVIIR back home. He said (translation via Nova Crystallis):

“So far, development has been carried out mainly with the support of external partners. However, in view of factors such as improving quality when the product goes into mass production in the future, the company has decided to shift the developmental system back to within the company, so as to maintain a stable schedule and have control over factors such as quality. We will be forming a robust system within the company to properly carry out the development.”

Now Hiring

In addition to moving development in-house, Square Enix is seeking a host of new staff to complete FFVIIR. Job postings include battle planner, level planner, background artists, and visual effects artists. These moves suggest development of the game, announced in 2015, has not progressed will in the last two years.

A Brief History of Final Fantasy VII

Square Enix – back then known as Squaresoft – released the original Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation in 1997. The game, a graphical leap forward for consoles, was the first in the series to feature 3D graphics and FMV sequences.

Players followed ex-SOLDIER Cloud as he and his band of eco-terrorists try to save the planet Gaia from the evil corporation Shinra and Sephiroth, a fallen hero returned from the dead. The huge success of Final Fantasy VII saw the game sell millions of copies within days of release. It widely considered to be one of the best games ever made.

When is FFVIIR Coming Out?

The first episode of FFVIIR will not, as rumoured, be released before the end of this year. Instead, Square Enix says we could be waiting until 2020 until game’s opening segment is ready.

FFVIIR will be out “in the next three years or so,” according to Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda. The game “still [has] a way to go,” he adds. Will the PS4, the game’s current platform, even be current-gen by 2020? Final Fantasy VII Remake: exclusive to PlayStation 5. Calling it now.