Final Fantasy VII Remake coming in 'next 2 to 3 years'

Fans will be waiting quite a while for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake.

2

In our recent report, we outlined Square Enix's fiscal year projections and what that means for its content slate, iterating that anticipated games like Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake may not release until 2019 at the earliest. Now Gematsu noticed an interesting tidbit in Square Enix's financials that says FF7R and KH3 actually may not release until 2020.

2

"This slide shows our release lineup for FY2017 as well as for FY2018 and beyond. We plan to launch each of these upcoming titles in the next three years or so," Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda said in the company's financial report in regards to the above slide.

A 2020 release for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake would put both titles in Square Enix's 2021 fiscal year timeline.

The company's current games release roadmap sees "1-2 blockbuster titles as well as multiple mid-size titles are constantly launched every year," but it's unlikely that both big-name titles would drop in the same year. The publisher would ideally like to stretch the games across multiple fiscal years for maximum effect.

Also remember that Final Fantasy VII: Remake is a three-part trilogy, so only the first chapter will release in 2019-2020, not the full game.

While we don't know the precise release dates of Final Fantasy VII: Remake or Kingdom Hearts III, we do know the games won't release in Square Enix's fiscal year ending March 2019 (FY2018). In fact, we shouldn't even hear an official release date until after March 2018.

Also remember that Square Enix has signed a multi-year contract with Marvel to make original games based around the comic-maker's key IPs. Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is heading up an Avengers game, whereas Deus Ex dev Eidos Montreal is working on a brand new Guardians of the Galaxy title.

The Deus Ex franchise has been put into cryo-sleep so Eidos Montreal could work on their Marvel game.

Furthermore, Square Enix has recently cut ties from IO Interactive, the devs behind the Hitman series. It's possible the publisher wants to sell off the IP as well as the studio, but official details are scarce.

The point is that Square Enix's production slate is quite busy, and it may be quite some time before we see Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake released onto the market.