Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Director Discusses Choice of Classic Engine for Upcoming Game
The third installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is already in a playable state and is currently being refined by the development team at Square Enix. The quick turnaround since the launch of Rebirth just under two years ago can be attributed to the team’s continued use of an earlier version of Unreal Engine. The director of the upcoming sequel recently shed light on the decision to stick with this older technology for the final game.
“We’ve been using Unreal Engine 4, but we’ve made a lot of modifications to fit our needs,” Naoki Hamaguchi explained in a recent interview. “It’s more beneficial to have something we’re already familiar with and have customized to fit our needs.” Back in 2024, the director mentioned that the team was considering a shift to the newer Unreal Engine 5 for the third game, but it seems they ultimately decided against it.
By sticking with the more familiar tools, Square Enix may be able to expedite the release of the third FF7 Remake game. Many other studios have experienced delays when transitioning to the latest version of Unreal Engine, although not all have encountered significant issues. Remaining with UE 4 could minimize uncertainties and assist in porting the trilogy to Switch 2, though it may also come with some graphical limitations.
In another part of the interview, Hamaguchi discussed his evolving perspective on generative AI. Last fall, he noted that there weren’t any established guidelines within the company regarding its use, even as Square Enix aimed to automate various aspects of quality assurance testing in the coming years. “My stance hasn’t changed on depending on AI to produce something or to create something,” Hamaguchi stated. “I don’t rely on AI to come up with ideas and things like that.”
He added, “That said, AI is a tool that I and other colleagues would utilize so that our tasks would become much smoother or some of the menial tasks are taken care of by AI. I think it’s becoming more and more necessary. The purpose of utilizing these tools is to create a better environment for creators, allowing them to work more efficiently and explore more creative options.”
He highlighted QA as one of those areas, using collision detection testing as an example of a repetitive and tedious task. “By automating that using AI, we reduce the stress on the human that is required to check on it,” Hamaguchi explained, adding, “And so we’re hoping that would lower the bandwidth that is required of our people.”
