TL;DR
FF7 Revelation took 3 years versus the usual 5+ because 95% of the team stayed in Rebirth. The most efficient cycle ever created by Square Enix.
Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the conclusion to the remake trilogy, will be released in spring 2027. That’s just three years after the second game, Rebirth. By modern AAA standards, where five years or more is normal, that’s fast.
Director Naoki Hamaguchi told Bloomberg The reason is simple: 95% of the development team stayed together since Rebirth. “The big benefit of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series is that we never had to go through that process, so the transition was extremely quick.” said.
The industry norm is to disband teams after each release and then spend months reuniting them for the next project. New people need new roles, new trust, and new workflows. Hamaguchi avoided all of this by starting design for Revelation a year before Rebirth shipped and then moving the same team directly into production.
The results are seen in the numbers. The remake required years of pre-production. The revival took four years. The Apocalypse took three. Each game was released faster than the last and the same people did the work. Hamaguchi and Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida are the only two Square Enix leaders to maintain persistent teams across projects. Both run the company’s most successful franchises.
“I think it is something that we should take into account as a company,“Hamaguchi said.”Because this created a really huge benefit in terms of accelerating and having an efficient development schedule.“
The lesson comes at a brutal time. Xbox is planning major layoffs in July under new CEO Asha Sharma. Microsoft and Meta have eliminated tens of thousands of jobs this year while redirecting spending to AI. The gaming industry lost 11% of developers in 2024 according to GDC’s annual survey, with 41% affected directly or through their teams.
Hamaguchi’s interview also revealed design decisions determined by player feedback. Minigame rewards in Revelation will be purely cosmetic and not tied to combat strategy like they were in Rebirth. The Highwind airship will allow players to fly around the world without invisible walls, a feature Hamaguchi pushed for despite engineering objections. A new job system called FITS offers four unique classes per character, each with deep skill tree progression.
“Only four or five people at Square Enix knew the title.”Revelation“Before it was announced. Hundreds of developers learned the name at the same time as the public.
After the releases of Revelation, Hamaguchi said that his next project will not be a remake. You’re considering an AA title, a new Final Fantasy, or an original AAA franchise. “He would love to keep the team together but recognized the tension: retaining talent in two persistent teams”falters and hinders the growth of the company.” Tech companies continue to cut teams and wondering why the next thing is taking so long. Hamaguchi demonstrated what happens when you don’t.
