The "Remake" in Final Fantasy VII Remake refers to much more than just the technical aspects of the original 1997 game being remade. The remaking of fate is a core concept of the title that adds additional layers to its story. Remake’s sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, continues that trend by exploring a world reborn by the machinations of the game’s antagonist Sephiroth.
As such, it stands to reason that the final game in the trilogy will use a similar naming convention that ties into the reimagining’s meta narrative. And, according to that game’s director Naoki Hamaguchi, the third and final installment’s title has been decided by the trilogy’s creative director Tetsuya Nomura. "I remember an interview I did at Paris Games Week about how we’d narrowed it down to two [names]," says Hamaguchi. "It was up to Mr. Nomura to decide which it is. And yes, after returning from Paris Games Week, he did choose one, so I can say the title has been locked."
Hamaguchi is in New York City to promote the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Nintendo Switch 2, giving us the opportunity to speak with him about the franchise. Regarding the game’s performance on the device--which has been received positively by even the most diehard of pixel peepers--Hamaguchi says that while it was relatively smooth getting the game running on the hardware, the team spent a lot of time trying to achieve a stable frame rate.
The director also noted that's a challenge the team is dealing with on the Switch 2 port of Rebirth, though Hamaguchi confirmed the studio has managed to get up and running on the device. " While we have gotten [Rebirth] to function on the Switch 2, we still need to make sure that frame rates are stable. Our engineers are trying to fine tune that and make sure we're optimizing properly," says Hamaguchi.
The first two parts of the trilogy were built using Unreal Engine 4, which has since been surpassed by the release of UE5 in 2021. While Hamaguchi previously stated the team had been considering transferring development of the final title over to the more modern engine, he confirms with us that they are sticking with UE4 for the game. "We’ve been using Unreal Engine 4, but we’ve made a lot of modifications to fit our needs," says Hamaguchi. "It’s more beneficial to have something we’re already familiar with and have customized to fit our needs."
Another aspect of modern game development that has become widely discussed is generative AI. In a previous interview, Hamaguchi stated that Square Enix didn’t have "any set-down rules" regarding the technology. However, in between that interview being conducted and published, Square Enix released a financial report that did lay out some of the ways it planned to utilize the technology, partnering with the Matsuo Laboratory at the University of Tokyo with the goal of using genAI to "automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks in game development by the end of 2027."
" My stance hasn't changed on depending on AI to produce something or to create something," says Hamaguchi. " I don't rely on AI to come up with ideas and things like that. That said, AI is a tool that I and other colleagues would utilize so that our tasks would become much smoother or some of the menial tasks are taken care of by AI. I think it's becoming more and more necessary. I think the purpose of utilizing these tools is so that creators will have a better environment so that they can work more efficiently and they can explore more creative options."
Hamaguchi proceeded to address the automation of the QA process with generative AI. " Some of the quality control testing requires very menial tasks, like collision check," says Hamaguchi. "[It’s] a tedious task that's very repetitive. By automating that using AI, we reduce the stress on the human that is required to check on it. It would just flag an alert and then the developers would get that information. And so we're hoping that that would lower the bandwidth that is required of our people."
2025 marked the 10-year anniversary since the start of development on this trilogy of titles. Ahead of the series' conclusion, we asked Hamaguchi whether the team is eager to move on, or is savoring its final months--potentially years--with Final Fantasy VII.
"That’s a good question, and also, a very difficult question [to answer]," says Hamaguchi. " We want to see it through, and we want to meet, if not surpass, fan expectations with the final installment. But it would be a lie to say that I haven’t thought, ‘Oh no! There’s still more I have to get through!’ Especially when transitioning from the first to second game. But now that we are seeing the conclusion of the trilogy, there is no wavering. We are focused and want to see it through."
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As such, it stands to reason that the final game in the trilogy will use a similar naming convention that ties into the reimagining’s meta narrative. And, according to that game’s director Naoki Hamaguchi, the third and final installment’s title has been decided by the trilogy’s creative director Tetsuya Nomura. "I remember an interview I did at Paris Games Week about how we’d narrowed it down to two [names]," says Hamaguchi. "It was up to Mr. Nomura to decide which it is. And yes, after returning from Paris Games Week, he did choose one, so I can say the title has been locked."
Hamaguchi is in New York City to promote the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Nintendo Switch 2, giving us the opportunity to speak with him about the franchise. Regarding the game’s performance on the device--which has been received positively by even the most diehard of pixel peepers--Hamaguchi says that while it was relatively smooth getting the game running on the hardware, the team spent a lot of time trying to achieve a stable frame rate.
The director also noted that's a challenge the team is dealing with on the Switch 2 port of Rebirth, though Hamaguchi confirmed the studio has managed to get up and running on the device. " While we have gotten [Rebirth] to function on the Switch 2, we still need to make sure that frame rates are stable. Our engineers are trying to fine tune that and make sure we're optimizing properly," says Hamaguchi.
The first two parts of the trilogy were built using Unreal Engine 4, which has since been surpassed by the release of UE5 in 2021. While Hamaguchi previously stated the team had been considering transferring development of the final title over to the more modern engine, he confirms with us that they are sticking with UE4 for the game. "We’ve been using Unreal Engine 4, but we’ve made a lot of modifications to fit our needs," says Hamaguchi. "It’s more beneficial to have something we’re already familiar with and have customized to fit our needs."
Another aspect of modern game development that has become widely discussed is generative AI. In a previous interview, Hamaguchi stated that Square Enix didn’t have "any set-down rules" regarding the technology. However, in between that interview being conducted and published, Square Enix released a financial report that did lay out some of the ways it planned to utilize the technology, partnering with the Matsuo Laboratory at the University of Tokyo with the goal of using genAI to "automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks in game development by the end of 2027."
" My stance hasn't changed on depending on AI to produce something or to create something," says Hamaguchi. " I don't rely on AI to come up with ideas and things like that. That said, AI is a tool that I and other colleagues would utilize so that our tasks would become much smoother or some of the menial tasks are taken care of by AI. I think it's becoming more and more necessary. I think the purpose of utilizing these tools is so that creators will have a better environment so that they can work more efficiently and they can explore more creative options."
Hamaguchi proceeded to address the automation of the QA process with generative AI. " Some of the quality control testing requires very menial tasks, like collision check," says Hamaguchi. "[It’s] a tedious task that's very repetitive. By automating that using AI, we reduce the stress on the human that is required to check on it. It would just flag an alert and then the developers would get that information. And so we're hoping that that would lower the bandwidth that is required of our people."
2025 marked the 10-year anniversary since the start of development on this trilogy of titles. Ahead of the series' conclusion, we asked Hamaguchi whether the team is eager to move on, or is savoring its final months--potentially years--with Final Fantasy VII.
"That’s a good question, and also, a very difficult question [to answer]," says Hamaguchi. " We want to see it through, and we want to meet, if not surpass, fan expectations with the final installment. But it would be a lie to say that I haven’t thought, ‘Oh no! There’s still more I have to get through!’ Especially when transitioning from the first to second game. But now that we are seeing the conclusion of the trilogy, there is no wavering. We are focused and want to see it through."
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