Final Fantasy Tactics remaster won't have War of the Lions content, no new jobs or co-op

Square Enix has clarified what the new Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles remaster does and does not include.

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Final Fantasy Tactics is coming back with a big new re-release, complete with upgraded visuals, full voice acting, and major quality of life improvements. Unfortunately, the updates will begin and end with the base game, and will not include anything outside of the 1997 original. That means no extra jobs, characters, or features like co-op multiplayer that were introduced in the enhanced PSP version, The War of the Lions.

This was to be expected--overhauling the full range of Final Fantasy Tactics would be more expensive, plus War of the Lions is a PSP game, so there's potentially some hang-ups with PlayStation on that front. War of the Lions added some nifty mechanics and even had playable versions of Cloud Strife and Final Fantasy XII's Balthier. The PSP version also added new classes like the Dark Knight and a bunch of new battles and quests.

A recent interview with Ivalice Chronicles director Kazutoyo Maehiro over at Square Enix's website reveals more details on how the team will focus on the new re-release.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles releases on September 30, 2025 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Interviewer: Why did you decide to focus on updating the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS rather than the War of the Lions version?

Maehiro: I and other members of this development team were not directly involved in the War of the Lions, but I do believe that the content in that game did fully meet expectations for players at that time.

However, as we looked back on everything nearly 30 years later, during the creation of this game, we asked ourselves what our team - those who created the original FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - could do to bring this game to a new generation of players.

It was through considering this question that we came to the conclusion that the most appropriate path for us was to pay respect to the original game's experience and recreate that in the best form possible.

Interviewer: Did you consider adding elements from FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS like Balthier, Luso and the Onion Knight and Dark Knight jobs?

Maehiro: We did of course consider the addition of new jobs, abilities, and characters - including the jobs featured in War of the Lions. However, the original version of FINAL FANTASY TACTICS is a very complete game both from a game design and story perspective. If we were to make major changes, it would only be a loss for not only fans of the original game, but also those new to the title.

With this in mind, our first step in reviving FINAL FANTASY TACTICS in the present was to adhere to the original and put a spotlight on the original game's characters and jobs, as well as the original gameplay experience.

The development team were passionate when it came to bringing an experience as close to the original as we could, and as a result we have recreated and used the original VFX and SFX - something I hope fans of the original in particular will enjoy as they play.