Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 is built PC-first, then scaled down to consoles

Director says high-end PCs set the visual bar, with consoles treated as mid-range

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Looking ahead: Final Fantasy fans have developed extremely high expectations for the FF7 Remake trilogy's upcoming third title. However, some fear Squenix will dial back the game's overall visual quality to accommodate its multiplatform development. Game director Naoki Hamaguchi quelled fears in a recent interview, saying the team's PC-first development approach will benefit players across all platforms.

During an interview with Automaton, Final Fantasy 7 Remake game director Naoki Hamaguchi explained why Square Enix is developing "PC first" and how it benefits all platforms. He said that by creating assets for the highest-end environments first, the FF7R team avoids being constrained by lower-end hardware. Once the high-end assets are complete, teams can adjust, review, and tune them for other platforms. Hamaguchi believes this approach ensures the quality and experience for higher-end users, while requiring mostly minor tweaks for less-powerful hardware.

Hamaguchi said that the game's development team classifies some of the most powerful modern consoles, the PS5 and PS5 Pro, as mid-range platforms. While that may sound like a hot take to some, he went on to highlight some large performance gaps between PlayStation and high-end PC hardware.

"Compared to high-end PCs, texture sizes may differ by roughly 1.5 to 2 times, mesh loading by 1.5 to 2 times, and polygon counts by more than three times," said Hamaguchi. "That's how big the difference can be."

Fans are mixed on the impact this development structure will bring, with some celebrating the wider platform inclusion while others fear the multiplatform approach will lead to visual compromises in the highly anticipated trilogy's final installment. Others question if spreading the development team across multiple platforms will stretch resources too thin, impacting the game's overall quality.

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Despite those doubts, Hamaguchi assured Automaton that development of the third title in the trilogy is progressing smoothly and is still on schedule. The game is currently in a playable state, and at the stage where the quality is improving daily.

"I think it won't be too long before we're able to share some kind of update with everyone," Hamaguchi said.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake originally released on the PS4 on April 10, 2020, with ports for the PS5, PC, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S releasing in 2021 and 2026. The first two installments of the remake have sold more than 8 million copies across all available platforms since release. While there's no official launch date for the third installment, Square Enix has hinted at aligning the new title's release with Final Fantasy VII's 30th anniversary in 2027.