Square Enix teases big next-gen PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X games

The games industry's biggest publishers are gearing up projects for next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, and Square Enix in particular teases big things for the systems.

Next-gen is an exciting time for the industry. Every developer is eager to show off new games to push the boundaries of what's possible. Devs want to take advantage of the PS5's and Xbox Series X's raw power, flexibility, and new feature sets like variable rate shading, ray tracing, and 120FPS gaming. Square Enix will be among these devs and the company has some big games set for 2020 and beyond.

In a Tweet revealing its plans to host a digital-based E3 stream, the Final Fantasy dev says their 2020 and next-gen lineups are "stronger than ever," asserting there's more next-gen games in the works that haven't been revealed yet.

"As the world has echoed and united, nothing is more important than protected the health and well-being of our employees and their families, our partners, and unquestionable, our fans. We support the ESA's decision to cancel E3 2020 and send our strongest heartfelt appreciation to everyone that works tirelessly to bring unforgettable games and experiences to E3.

"We understand this is disappointing not only to our respective developers and publishers, but also to thousands of fans who venture from afar to celebrate games at E3. We're right there with you.

"Our 2020 lineup, and the next-generation that lies beyond, is stronger than ever for Square Enix. Where E3 has always been an incredible moment in time to showcase our upcoming games, we're exploring other options to share our games with you. More to come, stay tuned."

Right now only a handful of Square Enix's new games have been announced.

The biggest marquee heavy-hitter is Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which will sell gangbusters and help revitalize the publisher's flagging sales. Others include the big new Marvel Avengers live game, and Outriders, a new third-person shooter from People Can Fly.

So what else is Square Enix working on? Rumblings of a Guardians of the Galaxy game were heard back in 2018. Deus Ex dev Eidos Montreal is teaming up with Tomb Raider dev Crystal Dynamics to make the new Guardians game.

Yoshi-P, the director of Final Fantasy XIV, is also working on a new game that's far into development. We speculated it could be Final Fantasy XVI.

And of course there's the second installment of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Remember, the game will be episodic and each chapter will be its own standalone RPG. Square Enix plans to release a trilogy, but nothings been officially confirmed so far and things shift quite a bit in development.

Whatever Square Enix does, the publisher says it doesn't want to release next-gen exclusive games.

In a recent Q&A with investors, the company said it will use the PS5's and Xbox Series X's native backward compatibility feature instead of re-launching new SKUs. In short, don't expect to see a PlayStation 5 exclusive version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Instead, Square Enix will release enhancement patches and updates to ensure FF7 Remake looks and plays better than ever on PS5.

Q: Could you share your thinking on the development of new titles for current- and next-generation game consoles going forward?

A: The next-generation consoles will have backward compatibility, so we plan for the time being to make our new titles available for both current and next-generation consoles. It will therefore be somewhat farther down the road that we release titles exclusively for the next-generation consoles.