The director of Final Fantasy 7 Remake may be working on Final Fantasy 17.

At a recent Final Fantasy 14 event, producer Naoki Yoshida and director Naoki Hamaguchi – the man behind the success of Final Fantasy 7 Remake – had a cryptic conversation. Hamaguchi's cautious response to a question about Final Fantasy 17 led fans to believe that the director might be playing a key role in Square Enix's next project.

A moment of hesitation that sparked controversy.

Specifically, during the discussion about the Evercold expansion for Final Fantasy 14 and the collaboration with Final Fantasy 7, Mr. Yoshida mentioned comments from the audience. Many players expressed their desire to see Naoki Hamaguchi take on the role of director for Final Fantasy 17.

When the situation unfolded, Mr. Hamaguchi was about to respond but immediately stopped. Producer Yoshida also agreed that remaining silent at this moment was a wise decision. This subtly evasive attitude immediately attracted significant attention and became a hot topic of discussion among gamers.

Enormous workload and deadline challenges

While the possibility of Hamaguchi being involved in the development of Final Fantasy 17 has generated much anticipation, this fact also raises considerable skepticism. Currently, the talented director is still focusing all his efforts on completing the third and final installment in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy.

Unlike remaking existing masterpieces, developing an entirely new main game requires building the world, creating the storyline, and redesigning the gameplay system from scratch. Even with strong project management skills, juggling or delegating tasks at this time could cause the release date of Final Fantasy 17 to be delayed beyond expectations.

Square Enix's Human Resources Strategy and New Direction

Besides the possibility of Hamaguchi's involvement, previous information from Square Enix has offered other perspectives. In an interview with IGN in early 2024, producer Naoki Yoshida suggested that the company might entrust the direction to a younger, fresh face, rather than a veteran like himself or Hiroshi Takai.

For his part, Hamaguchi has shared his desire to try his hand at a new JRPG project after concluding the Final Fantasy 7 franchise. This could be Final Fantasy 17 or a completely new intellectual property franchise.

Notably, to optimize business efficiency and achieve better long-term sales, Square Enix is ​​expected to change its distribution strategy. Instead of applying a timed exclusivity policy on PlayStation 5 like its predecessor, the company may aim for a multi-platform release for Final Fantasy 17 from day one.