Final Fantasy fans might have been disappointed not to have seen the second part of the Final Fantasy 7 remake appear at last week's PlayStation Showcase, but they might not have too long to wait for more news on the game.
In a new tweet from the game's official account, producer Yoshinori Kitase was asked "how is development progressing on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?" In response, Kitase said that "development is progressing smoothly and according to plan."
Additionally, however, Kitase told fans that "we are currently working on nailing down a release date for the game." Last summer, Square Enix confirmed both the name of the remake's second part and a "next Winter" release window. That places a launch date somewhere around the latter part of this year, although there's definitely potential for it to slip to early 2024.
Final Fantasy VII RebirthDeveloper comment number 1 pic.twitter.com/O4KdGlh4gyJune 2, 2023
While it's a shame the release date hasn't been locked in yet, Kitase's comments explain the game's absence from the PlayStation Showcase, which was instead dominated by Final Fantasy 16. That game is significantly closer to launch, so it makes sense that Sony is looking to prioritise it over Rebirth, especially if there are no notable updates ready to go for that project.
I'm no Final Fantasy nut, but it will definitely be interesting to see how Rebirth shapes up. With the new generation now fully under way, expectations will certainly be higher than they were for the acclaimed Remake. Add to that the fact that while Rebirth is positioned as a sequel, it's also kind of the same game as Remake, it's positioned to occupy a unique space in the evolution of a series. Hopefully, today's announcement is the start of a bigger information push on the project and we'll have a bit more to go on soon.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake could have been two games instead of three.
