It looks like Final Fantasy 7 Revelation boss Naoki Hamaguchi has plenty on his plate at the moment – not only is he working to get Part 3 of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy out the door, he's also "pushing" Kingdom Hearts 4 "forward."
As part of the latest media rounds for FF7: Revelation, Hamaguchi has been speaking to the press once more – you can read our own Final Fantasy 7 Revelation hands-on and interview here. As part of all of that chatter, Hamaguchi delves into what next year looks like for Square Enix, and it's a busy one.
"In terms of Square Enix and 2027, our President, Takashi Kiryu, says that next year is the big fight back for us, where everything turns around," he tells Deadline. "And obviously, between Final Fantasy 7 Revelation and Kingdom Hearts 4, those are massive titles that are going to push that. And both are being developed in my own studio, Creative Studio 1. So yeah, I’m really pumped up now for that. That’s really all on my watch now, so I’m going to be the guy who’s pushing all that forward."
Hamaguchi doesn't offer much more than that, though it's interesting to hear that Kingdom Hearts 4 is on his watch and that he's "pushing" it forward. Announced back in 2022, we haven't seen much of the beloved Disney spin-off until recently. The wait was worth it, however. Not only did we get a release window of next year, but Tetsuya Nomura was quite confident it wouldn't be delayed.
Interestingly, it was only recently that Final Fantasy 14 boss Naoki Yoshida praised Hamaguchi at Fan Fest Berlin for his ability to run and organize a team well – no wonder so many fans want him on Final Fantasy 17. Whether or not Hamaguchi's talent for management lends to Nomura's confidence over the Kingdom Hearts 4 release window is hard to say, but the broader picture is encouraging.
Another thing to add that may please fans is that, while researching this article, I came across another interview with Hamaguchi in which he reportedly said he would like Kingdom Hearts 4 to get a physical edition, too.
He doesn't add much there, though he's spoken about physical media a few times lately and his thoughts on it. Back at Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest, actually, I spoke to him about whether Square Enix had plans to offer a physical version of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. We have since learned that they will, though his thoughts given at the time still seem relevant.
"Personally, here at something like Fan Fest or at community events for games that I've worked on, I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs – I think that's lovely," he said at the time. "I think it's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain."
What a year 2027 might be for Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy fans.
