Responding to the recent apparent leaks from different sources that indicate an Xbox One release for Square Enix’s new vision of Final Fantasy VII, the company has released statement today to Video Games Chronicle clarifying that Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released on the PlayStation only.
Previously, information appeared on GameStop’s website for Ireland that listed an Xbox One version of the game was available for pre-order, and earlier this week a video was posted by Xbox Germany to Facebook showing footage from Final Fantasy VII Remake and giving the same release date as the PlayStation 4, March 3rd, 2020. The video was taken down and Xbox Germany’s Communications and Social Media Lead Maxi Graff responded by saying it was an “internal mistake.”
Square Enix told Video Games Chronicle definitively that they have “no plans” to release Final Fantasy VII Remake on the Xbox One, or on anything else.
As previously announced, Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for the PlayStation 4 on March 3rd 2020. We have no plans for other platforms.
Square Enix previously stated that Final Fantasy VII Remake would “debut first” on the PlayStation 4, leaving the question of platform expansion open. On Twitter, user “Nibel” pointed out that the trailer shown at E3 2019 for Final Fantasy VII Remake did not include the “play it first on PlayStation 4” line that earlier trailers included.
An Xbox One release for Final Fantasy VII Remake seemed plausible, as many assumed that the “debut first” was an indication of a timed exclusive arrangement with Sony, and that an Xbox or PC version of the game would be made available sometime after the March 3rd, 2020 release. Other recent major Final Fantasy games like Final Fantasy XV and the Final Fantasy XIII suite before it are available on both the PlayStation and the Xbox consoles, but Remake will be a PlayStation 4 and potentially PlayStation 5 game only.
Since Final Fantasy VII Remake was subject to storied delays in development time, it’s unlikely that Square Enix wanted the game to release so close to the release of Sony’s next-generation console, the PlayStation 5, and this is potentially worrisome now that the game is confirmed to be releasing in installments.
CEO and President of Square Enix Yosuke Matsuda told Game Informer that installments of Final Fantasy VII Remake are likely to be cross-generational in some way. “I believe that our teams have made it so that the game will support both the next generation and the current generation of consoles. I believe it is being developed so that it is going to be playable on both, so I’m not really concerned about that and I believe that the fans are also going to be able to enjoy it on both, including the next-generation of consoles.”
With the PlayStation 5 having backwards compatibility, it’s difficult to be sure if Matsuda means the game will be simply playable on the PlayStation 5 as a PlayStation 4 game, or if the development team will be building the next episodes on next generation hardware. It could also be what the “debut first” wording was meant to convey in earlier trailers–that the first chapter will be on current Sony consoles, and the next chapters made for next-generation hardware.
Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of the top games of this year’s E3, and took top stop on mxdwn’s Best Games of E3 list this year. Square Enix showed off lot of the upcoming remake’s novel approach to the traditional turn-based combat of the original along with a playable demo at E3 2019. Be sure to check out mxdwn’s hands-on impressions of this long-awaited Final Fantasy revamp.
The first installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake will be the size of a complete game, taking up two Blu-Ray discs, and releases on the PlayStation 4 on March 3rd, 2020.