While the announcement that HBO is developing a Game of Thrones spinoff centered around Jon Snow dominates the fantasy headlines this week, a pretty huge video game announcement snuck in under the radar. This Thursday was the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration, and video game studio Square Enix pulled out all the bells and whistles to give us the single biggest day of Final Fantasy VII news since the next generation remake was first announced back in 2015.
The first and most exciting thing on the docket is that we finally got more information about the highly-anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, which completely reimagined the classic 1997 PlayStation RPG from the ground up for next generation consoles. Remake only covered the first portion of the Final Fantasy VII story, so we’ve all been waiting with bated breath for Square Enix to fill us in one when we’ll be able to play the rest. Now we know.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming next winter
During the anniversary celebration, Square Enix gave us our very first look at the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, as well as confirming a few crucial details about the future of the series. The first is that this reimagining of Final Fantasy VII is officially confirmed to be a trilogy. The second game will be titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and is slated to come out next winter. This could mean either a late 2023 or early 2024 release date; Square Enix likely left it ambiguous on purpose to give themselves some wiggle room. The third game is still untitled at this time.
Beyond that, there’s that little teaser I mentioned, which you can watch above. It shows scenes of gameplay where Cloud and Sephiroth walk through the mountains of Nibelheim, combined with some cinematic shots of Zack Fair, a mysterious Buster Sword-wielding hero with some mind-blowing connections to Cloud’s past. This bit with Cloud and Sephiroth is likely taken straight from the Kalm flashback sequence in the original Final Fantasy VII; in the trailer it’s even overlaid with dialogue between Cloud and Tifa discussing those fateful events.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be releasing exclusively on the PlayStation 5, so if you haven’t upgraded yet, Square Enix is giving plenty of notice that the time is nigh.
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core remake on the way!
The other huge bit of news Square Enix dropped during the anniversary celebration is that the cult-classic Final Fantasy VII spinoff game Crisis Core is getting a remake as well. Crisis Core originally released on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) back in 2007, but since that system never enjoyed the widespread accessibility of the mainline PlayStations, a lot of fans missed out on it. It tells the story of Zack Fair, a SOLDIER and comrade of Cloud; yes, I’m keeping that intentionally opaque. One of Final Fantasy VII’s bigger twists revolves around Zack, so if you want to know the details you’ll have to play for yourself!
Considering that Final Fantasy VII Remake seems to be bringing Zack into a more central focus with the changes it made to the original game’s canon, the timing for a Crisis Core remake is perfect. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is due out next winter as well. Unlike Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the Crisis Core remake will be available on a variety of systems including PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
You can find a full list of all the announcements from the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration on Square Enix’s website. Time to start planning out next year’s trip to the Golden Saucer with Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and all the rest.
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