For a long while, rumours have swirled that suggest Square Enix has been exploring how to bring back Final Fantasy IX as part of a full-scale and dedicated remake, perhaps akin to what we've received lately for Final Fantasy VII. However, things haven't progressed particularly quickly and the Japanese company has never actually acknowledged that this project was in the pipeline, perhaps because it may not arrive, at least anytime soon...
On a recent podcast episode, notorious leaker NateTheHate has talked a little about this rumoured remake and said that the last they heard about the project it was "still on ice". This doesn't mean that the project has been cancelled, but more likely that production has been paused while Square Enix makes further judgement on the title and the series as a whole.
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While fans of Final Fantasy and FFIX will be somewhat surprised this game isn't being focused on by Square Enix, this decision could be down to the aging demographic for the series, which supposedly doesn't have many players younger than 30, at least for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth in the United States. Series veteran Naoki Yoshida also touched on this by claiming that younger players "don't care" about Final Fantasy, making a big remake of FFIX a bit of a gamble for the company.
Would you play a remake of FFIX?