Square Enix has officially announced Final Fantasy VII Remake, which will launch worldwide on March 3, 2020. The announcement was made during a Final Fantasy concert held before the official opening of E3 2019.
Square Enix still due to have a press conference during E3, but the company has also chosen to give the much-anticipated remake its own time in the limelight. The original Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997 for PlayStation. This remake, which features modern graphics and an action-based combat system, is coming to PlayStation 4.
While many thought the shift from the game's original external developer CyberConnect2 to Square Enix's in-house team would cause a severe delay, the final product will be here much sooner than expected.
Alongside the release date announcement, Square Enix has unveiled a new trailer that shows more combat from the game starring Cloud and Barret alongside series icons Aerith and Sephiroth.
Usually an announcement of this size would be reserved for Sony's keynote that's typically held on the Monday of E3 - but, because Sony isn't at this year's show, Square Enix has taken it upon themselves to break the news.
In a tweet, director Tetsuya Nomura said that "We will be making further announcements tomorrow, but for now, please have a look at the short version trailer we revealed today." Back in May, Square released the first new trailer for the game in years.
Skeptics argue that Remake may be doing away with Final Fantasy 7's charm by not preserving the Active Time Battle system found in the original game. While damage counters and Limit Breaks seem to be making a comeback, Remake looks like it will indeed be adopting Final Fantasy 15's real-time combat rather than adhering to its former mechanics. Square Enix could offer a better glimpse at the game's combat this E3 by offering an in-depth window into the game's denser RPG mechanics.
It's not clear whether this means the whole game; FFVII Remake was originally pegged as an episodic release. A confirmation should be made by Square Enix soon.
According to Square Enix, the company will have more to share about the game at its press event, so it's worth tuning into that at 6pm PT (9pm ET, 2am BST/11am AEST) on Tuesday, June 11.
