Final Fantasy 7 Remake 2 release date not impacted by part 1's delay
The release date of the second game in the new Final Fantasy VII Remake sub-series was not impacted by the first game's delay.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake coming in April is only the first of several parts to the original story, and while Square Enix is still being pretty quiet in regards to follow-ups, it has confirmed whether or not the first part's delay will affect the release timeline of future installments.
Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda confirmed that future installments were still on track during the company's latest financial results briefing in February. According to the English transcription of the financial results briefing Q&A, he was asked, "Will the change in [your] release date for “FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE” impact your development or launch timelines for the next installment?"
Matsuda simple response was, "No, it will not."
Whatever plans Square Enix has for Final Fantasy VII Remake 2's release, they're still on track. Any other video games in the works from the company will also seemingly stay on track.
Final Fantasy VII Remake 2's release date was not impacted by Final Fantasy VII Remake's delay.
When Final Fantasy VII Remake, or at least its first episode, re-emerged last year, it was originally announced for release on March 3, 2020. But in January the title was pushed back by over a month to April 10. At the time, Producer Yoshinori Kitase said in a press release that the developers needed "a few extra weeks to apply final polish to the game and to deliver you with the best possible experience." The reasoning apparently didn't include the second part of the episodic remake, which appears to be progressing as planned.
Final Fantasy VII Remake's episodic nature was first revealed in a press release back in 2015 that said its story "will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience." When the game reemerged at Sony's May 2019 State of Play, Square Enix reiterated in a Japanese press release that Final Fantasy VII is still being remade across multiple parts, according to Siliconera.
What platforms will Final Fantasy VII Remake 2 release for?
Depending on how soon Square Enix plans for Final Fantasy VII Remake 2 to come out, we may see it on both current and next-generation hardware. During that same financial call, Yasuke was asked about Square Enix's plans for next-generation development. "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," he said.
"It will therefore be somewhat farther down the road that we release titles exclusively for the next-generation consoles." So far, we know that this strategy is being applied to People Can Fly's Outriders, and there's a chance that the same release mentality will apply to Final Fantasy VII Remake 2.
The Inverse Analysis
It's good to hear that the delay of Final Fantasy VII Remake had no significant impact on Final Fantasy VII Remake 2's release window, even if I expected that would be the case as the first part's delay was quite short. If it was delayed almost half a year like Marvel's Avengers or Cyberpunk 2077, I'd be more concerned about future entries in the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. Right now though, I'm just waiting until I can finally get my hands on the first part of this long-awaited remake.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for PS4 April 10, 2020.
