2023 is already shaping up to be one of the biggest years of all time if you happen to be a Final Fantasy fan, from the tentpole new entry, Final Fantasy XVI launching on June 22, 2023, the Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster Collection finally coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch early in 2023, and the looming presence of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth sometime in the northern Winter. All of that follows the incredibly fresh launch of the PSP remaster, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion across all platforms in December. Not content with letting the release dates speak for themselves, some big words are coming from some big Square-Enix executives that are talking a big game going into 2023. Several comments have been made by a range of ranking developers at Square-Enix pertaining to each of the big upcoming AAA releases currently slated for 2023.
Yoshinori Kitase, the Producer of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had some particularly interesting things to say when he proclaimed,
Happy New Year to you all. Final Fantasy VXI is set to release this year, which means Yoshi-P needs your support now more than ever. Cheer him on as he gives it his all down the stretch!
Also! Development is picking up speed on the title I’m producing, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I’m sure many of your collective imaginations are running wild trying to picture how we’ll recreate some of the game’s most iconic scenes, and we’ll have more to share about that when the time is right.
There’s also another big announcement unrelated to FFVII that I can’t say anything about just yet.
Rest assured we’re working hard to make sure 2023 is the most exciting year yet.
The beloved Yoshi-P (Naoki Yoshida) also shared some insights into his pet projects, Final Fantasy XVI as well as the hit MMO, Final Fantasy XIV Online, saying,
A very Happy New Year to you!
Thanks to the tireless efforts of medical professionals the world over, 2023 finally feels like the year that life might return, bit by bit, to what it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed it is thanks to them that we game developers are able to continue doing what we do. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to the entire medical community.
Work on Final Fantasy XVI, the latest entry in the Final Fantasy series, continues apace; we have at last announced the release date. We’re busy putting the finishing touches on the game and making the marketing materials, so hang in there just a little bit longer.
But that’s not all: Final Fantasy XIV is going to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year! And thankfully we’ll be able to hold live, in-person Final Fantasy Fan Festival events all over the world to celebrate. Our 10th anniversary schedule is jam-packed, so stay tuned (and yes, Patch 6.3 will release very soon)!
The comments from both parties are great to hear, but the thing that will undoubtedly catch the eye of fans is the comment from Kitase that suggests a non-Final Fantasy VII related announcement is incoming. Perhaps this will be the rumoured Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster, or Final Fantasy IX Remake, both of which were outed in the 2021 NVIDIA leak.
