Shifting Priorities in Game Development
For years, the Final Fantasy series has maintained a reputation for prioritizing console platforms, often relegating PC gamers to a secondary status. However, recent developments suggest a potential shift in this longstanding approach. Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, has announced that the PC will now serve as the “lead platform” for the series’ future installments.
In a candid discussion with Automaton, Hamaguchi elaborated on the studio’s evolving strategy. He explained that the team has adopted a common industry practice of crafting visual assets by first targeting “high-end environments.” This means that the development process begins with the PC as the foundation, followed by a “reduction” for less powerful platforms. “Our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation,” he stated, indicating a commitment to delivering superior graphics on this platform. Players have already observed this enhanced visual fidelity in the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Hamaguchi assured fans that this philosophy will remain consistent for the trilogy’s concluding chapter.
Despite the fact that PC gaming is still “gradually expanding in Japan,” Hamaguchi noted that the surge in international PC gamers has prompted the company to tailor its asset development to cater to this broader market. The commercial success of recent PC versions of the Final Fantasy VII Remake titles on platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store further underscores this shift in focus.
However, the timeline for PC releases remains a point of contention. Historically, PC gamers have faced delays compared to their console counterparts. The first installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake was released on PC a full 19 months after its PlayStation 4 debut, while Rebirth followed with an 11-month gap post-PS5 launch. Similarly, both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XV saw their PC versions released over a year after their console launches. As the landscape of gaming continues to evolve, it remains to be seen whether this trend will persist or if the new development strategy will lead to more synchronized releases across platforms.