Square Enix announced its new strategy to release more multiplatform games a few months after Final Fantasy VII Rebirth came out exclusively on PlayStation 5. Because of this dichotomy, many wondered if the company suddenly changed opinions because that game sold poorly.
Yoshinori Kitase is an important figure at Square Enix and the producer of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. He recently talked with IGN Brazil and addressed this exact issue, explaining that Rebirth was among the three titles that received the award for Best-Selling Game during Sony’s PlayStation Partners Awards in Japan back in October. “I think being recognized in this aspect gives me the certainty that we have reached a certain level,” said Kitase.
While Square Enix hasn’t revealed the official sales figures for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth yet, it’s clear that the game has sold relatively well and left the company quite satisfied. However, since it is a PS5 exclusive (Something that will change soon on January 23, when it arrives to PC via Steam) it is highly possible that it would have sold even better if it was available on multiple consoles, and Kitase is very much aware of that.
“While we are confident and happy that we are reaching a certain level of sales, it is clear that with the modernity of games, we cannot be exclusive to a single platform. I think we need to offer the game to as many players as possible,” Kitase told IGN Brazil, further confirming that Square Enix will stick to its multiplatform strategy and hinting that the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake project will most likely launch on other gaming systems from day one.
Will Sony allow Square to release the third Final Fantasy VII Remake game on other platforms?
The fact that Square Enix wants to release the third and final Final Fantasy VII Remake game on multiple consoles is a very good thing that will certainly be better for gamers around the world. However, there is no certainty that Sony will be okay with this idea (even though we don’t know how exactly their exclusivity deal works). Very recently, PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst said that the company is always looking to work with external companies to publish third-party titles on PS5, with Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade being two prominent examples of this practice.
The Final Fantasy IP has been very important to the PlayStation brand during the current generation consoles since both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth were two of the best and most appealing PS5 exclusives on the market, even if Square Enix eventually ported both of them to PC. Because of this, Sony definitely won’t be happy with this decision to go multiplatform, even though the numbers prove it will benefit Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV, which launched on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the same day, reached 5 million units sold on its first day. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 5 exclusive Final Fantasy XVI sold 3 million units in 6 days. Don’t get me wrong, these still are very solid sales figures, but they could have definitely been even higher if the game also launched on Xbox Series X/S and/or PC.
