Like many of you, we are eagerly awaiting the release of the third part of Final Fantasy VII: Remake saga. The first part was recently launched for both Switch 2 and Xbox Series S/X, and has sold well - something that will please Square Enix, which has not been entirely impressed with how the games have performed on PlayStation 5.
When the third instalment arrives, it looks set to be a multi-format release coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S/X. But this has led many to believe that the graphics may suffer when developers can no longer focus on a single format. Fortunately, it seems that Square Enix has everything under control. Here's what director Naoki Hamaguchi had to say in an interview with Automaton:
"Both the Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox versions have been incredibly well received and generated a lot of buzz online, and that attention has also made me realize how many people are worried about this issue. However, our decision to go multiplatform with the FFVII Remake series will not in any way lower the quality of the third instalment. Our development structure simply doesn't work that way to begin with. ...I suppose I'll just have to keep saying it (laughs)."
In fact, Square Enix primarily develops for PC rather than consoles. Hamaguchi explains the reasoning:
"The FFVII Remake series has sold very well on platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store, so we develop assets with the broad PC market in mind. In fact, our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation.
"When FFVII Rebirth launched, there was talk about how the PC version looked better than the PS5 version, and our philosophy will not change for the third instalment. As our fundamental principle, we do not design assets to meet the lowest baseline. Instead, we create them for high-end environments first."
After PC, the other formats are treated individually, but the game is designed to look as good as possible on the strongest possible hardware and is then scaled down for each format. That said, the PlayStation 5 Pro (and presumably the Xbox Series X as well) should not expect to get the best versions:
"Speaking in purely technical terms, we categorize PS5 and PS5 Pro as 'mid-range platforms' internally. Compared to high-end PCs, texture sizes may differ by roughly 1.5 to 2 times, mesh loading by 1.5 to 2 times, and polygon counts by more than three times. That's how big the difference can be."
Considering how well they've done so far, there seems to be no reason to worry, but for those who want to know more about how the Final Fantasy VII: Remake team works (at a fairly deep level), we recommend reading the interview linked above.
We don't yet know when part three will be released, but many analysts and insiders have said that 2027 or 2028 is likely, as there were four years between the two current games.