The Final Fantasy series is famous for being a pillar PlayStation franchise. The relationship began with the original Final Fantasy 7 and continued for many years. The series mainline installments started going multiplatform with Final Fantasy 13 through Final Fantasy 15. When the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series began, many hoped it would be multiplatform. But to this day, that original remake is still console-only on PlayStation. What about future games in that sub-series however?
Update – A correction has been made by the Washington Post’s Gene Park stating that only FF7 Remake and Rebirth are currently confirmed as console exclusives, not the entire FF7 Remake trilogy.
Only Blue Materia Allowed – Final Fantasy 7 Remake is PlayStation Exclusive
Confirmed after the release of the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the trilogy of FF7 games will be console-only for PlayStation consoles. This was stated by Sony Computer Interactive Entertainment Vice President via Gematsu:
Speaking to The Washington Post, Svennson said securing the remake trilogy is part of recognizing the original Final Fantasy 7‘s importance as a defining game for the PlayStation experience.
“Back in that same console generation for the original PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment had few franchises of its own, and in order to find its place in a very competitive video game industry, we sought to win the hearts and minds of key third-party developers like Square,” Svensson said.
Final Fantasy being a franchise PlayStation wants to lockdown makes sense considering the legacy, specifically FF7. The developers also are happy with this decision as well, stating it streamlines development for them.
In the same interview, Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy producer Yoshinori Kitase discussed the benefits of developing for a single platform, stating that it made it it easier to focus on building a world with diverse geography, indoor and outdoor locations populated with activities, characters, and more without “loading screen” interruptions, whereas developing for multiple platforms usually creates more work that focuses on porting.
“Had it not been on a single platform, the world map would not be seamless, and game design may have had to regress significantly,” Kitase said.
Final Fantasy on Other Platforms/Overall Thoughts
The series recently returned to Xbox platforms with the successful launch of Final Fantasy 14 on Series consoles. In addition, it’s heavily rumored that Final Fantasy 16 is coming to other platforms in 2024, so the potential for that mainline title coming to Xbox is a possibility.
Limiting the series to only PlayStation, personally, feels very shortsighted. The PlayStation 5 is not the dominant console in Japan, the Nintendo Switch is. So even if Xbox is out of the question, not putting any of the Remake saga games on Switch or the rumored Switch 2 is a baffling decision.
As someone who bought their PlayStation 5 specifically to play Final Fantasy 16, I earnestly hope Square reconsiders this decision. If recent actions in the industry imply anything, a multiplatform future is happening sooner than later.
