Square Enix has yet to officially reveal any footage or information about the unnamed sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, but new comments by the developers suggest that 2022 could be the year when fans finally learn more about the game. FF7 Remake only covered the Midgar portion of the original game and the story ended when the members of Avalanche left the city. Meanwhile, the INTERmission DLC continued the story a little further, showing the party traveling toward the town of Kalm.
Fans knew ahead of time that FF7 Remake would cover Midgar, but it’s unclear how far the next game will go, and how many entries will appear in the series. The fact that FF7 Remake is now free to go in a new direction with its story means that there is no way to predict how long the story will be. The ending of INTERmission suggests that Kalm and the Nibelheim flashback will happen, while the recent Japan-only Aerith/Tifa novel mentions the group sneaking aboard the ship to Costa Del Sol. The unclear canon status of the novel means that the Nibelheim flashback is about the only guaranteed part of the story that fans can expect to see in FF7 Remake Part 2.
2022 marks the 25th anniversary of FF7 and Square Enix recently held a livestream to commemorate the occasion. The livestream was a disappointment, as it only featured updates about FF7: The First Soldier and had no information about either FF7 Remake Part 2 or the upcoming Ever Crisis. It seems that the anniversary will be taking place over the course of the year, and a comment made during the livestream suggests that more FF7 Remake information could be on the way.
In a segment of the livestream translated by PushDustin on Twitter (as reported by Video Games Chronicle), FF7 Remake Producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed that they want to reveal information about the game this year and that they want to do it within the next twelve months if they can. It was revealed that the sequel to FF7 Remake entered development as soon as work on the first game finished, so that means the team will have the equivalent of nearly three years of production time to come up with something for a reveal, assuming it happens within the next twelve months. This should be enough time to come up with a teaser trailer, some key art, or even just the name of the game.
Much like how the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild still lacks a name, the sequel to FF7 Remake‘s name might hold some clue as to where the sequel is going. If Square Enix names the game Final Fantasy VII-2, Final Fantasy VII Reunion, or more likely, Final Fantasy VII plus Latin words, then that will be enough to get the hype machine running with minimal effort on the part of the developers. A title card with an intriguing name will ensure the fan’s interest is piqued while giving the developers time to produce some promotional material with more substance in 2023.
The lack of information about Ever Crisis during the livestream (outside of a strange segment that suggests The First Soldier will be connected to the game) suggests that Square Enix wants to release information gradually throughout the year, rather than through one big blowout. 2022 is already a big gaming year for the Final Fantasy franchise, as Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Chocobo GP, and Ever Crisis are all supposed to launch, a huge announcement about the future of FFXIV is going to be made during a dedicated event, and the next reveal of FF16 is due to take place. The lack of information during the livestream was disappointing, but Square Enix already has a busy year, and revealing a lot of information about the sequel to FF7 Remake might overshadow the other games coming out in 2022.
The actual reveal of new information would likely take place at the end of 2022, as the 35th-anniversary celebrations for the entire Final Fantasy franchise will take place on December 18. A full trailer for FF7 Remake Part 2 would be a huge way to celebrate the anniversary of the series and it would get fans hyped for a 2023 release, assuming that was on the cards. Square Enix has revealed that more FF7 projects are on the way, so the 35th-anniversary celebrations might also formally announce these, as part of a larger event dedicated to the future of the series.
The other likely venue would be a Sony State of Play event, as Square Enix has heavily supported them in the past. FF7 Remake and Intergrade were both timed exclusives on PlayStation platforms, and the huge sales of the game mean that Sony would likely want the sequel to also be a timed exclusive. There’s also Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard to consider, as it may have spooked Sony into paying for a full exclusive. The Final Fantasy and PlayStation brands have been closely associated for a long time, and the sequel to FF7 Remake being a console full exclusive wouldn’t be remiss, especially if Sony wants to bolster the PS5’s line-up for 2023. In that situation, any news about the game would likely happen during Sony events.
This isn’t to say that fans are guaranteed a look at the sequel to FF7 Remake in 2022, as fans were also promised a new look at FF16 in 2021, and the big reveal was delayed to 2022. The sequel to FF7 Remake might have had years of development time, but nearly all of that happened during the worst of the pandemic, so it would be understandable if work on the game had fallen way behind schedule. The dual anniversaries and the abundant development time (even with the pandemic) mean that fans should see something of the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake in 2022, even if it’s something small.
Source: Video Games Chronicle, PushDustin/Twitter