Square Enix Favors New Games, but Leaves Room for the Right Remake

Square Enix is more likely to invest in new games than return to its back catalog, but Yoshinori Kitase says a remake can still make sense when a project has a strong creative reason. In an IGN interview, the Final Fantasy series producer said the company is “more likely to invest in new titles and new games.”

Kitase pointed to Final Fantasy VII as a special case. He and other developers who worked on the 1997 original still felt strongly about it and wanted to create something new from the old game that could introduce its appeal to new players as well as longtime fans. The remake was an exception, not a sign that Square Enix plans to revisit every classic.

The first game also had to lay the groundwork for the rest of the trilogy. Director Naoki Hamaguchi said the project restarted with about 30 people and required the team to establish standards for graphics, gameplay, and overall quality, as he discussed in his account of the first game’s development.

Kitase said employees and many fans have asked for a Final Fantasy VI remake, adding, “so who knows?” In an IGN interview, he also said he has no particular feeling toward remakes at present and does not expect to work on one anytime soon. The requests are not a commitment to a project.

Separately, Kitase said he would like to lead a project centered on battle action while preserving the qualities of a Final Fantasy story. He did not connect that ambition to a specific game.

In July, Naoki Yoshida said a Final Fantasy VI remake made at the scale of Final Fantasy VII Remake could require four or five installments, a reminder of the production demands such a project might involve.

Would you want to see Final Fantasy VI remade, even if a project at the scale of Final Fantasy VII Remake took several installments? For more on how Square Enix balances familiar series with new projects, follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.