According to what was declared by producer Yoshinori Kitase, Square Enix can no longer count on the exclusivity of a single platform.
During an interview with IGN Brazl the aforementioned Kitase, producer of the Final Fantasy franchise and director of the original Final Fantasy VII, spoke about the poor sales of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
In September, the company held a briefing during which it shared its financial results, saying that profits did not meet the company’s expectations despite the release of several new titles, including Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, both released exclusively for PlayStation 5.
While Kitase denies that Rebirth is a commercial flop, he has stated that due to the nature of modern video games (likely referring to increasing development budgets), single platform exclusivity is no longer sustainable for Square Enix. Specifically, Kitase stated that the company should allow as many users as possible to play Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
The first part of the Final Fantasy VII remake project was a timed exclusive, as it originally released on PlayStation 4 in 2020 and then made its debut on PC a year and a half later. With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth the duration of exclusivity has been reduced and the PC version, barring postponements, will arrive on January 23, 2024.
Kitase will likely look to make both games available on the new Nintendo console and Xbox Series consoles, as well as expecting the third and final part of the trilogy to be released simultaneously on as many platforms as possible.
