Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 Release Date Could be Affected by COVID-19

In an interview with The Guardian, Final Fantasy 7 Remake co-director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase confirmed that development on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 has slowed down due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am pained and saddened to see so many people around the world suffering with the virus and even losing their lives,” Kitase says. “At this current time, the team are still making the next game via remote working. Our performance will temporarily drop below 100% efficiency because of this, but I do not think there should be a big impact in the long term. I sincerely hope that Final Fantasy 7 Remake can provide those who are forced to endure the stress of living under lockdown a moment of relief and enjoyment in these trying times.”

Kitase also notes that “nobody could have predicted a global pandemic like this” when the Final Fantasy team set the anticipated release dates for future Final Fantasy 7 Remake projects and that “the release of the game happening during this unprecedented situation has blindsided us.”

It’s hardly a surprise to hear that development of the next Final Fantasy Remake project has been at least somewhat impacted by COVID-19. We’ve seen countless examples of delays, alternations, and cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, so it just makes sense that a project the size of the next Final Fantasy 7 Remake chapter would also suffer some kind of setback.

The question now becomes, “When will the next Final Fantasy 7 Remake chapter be released?” Well, Square Enix never offered even a vague release window for the next Final Fantasy 7 Remake game (even before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic), so there isn’t much actual information to work off of at this time. We strongly suspect that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 will be released sometime in the next 2-3 years, though, with any possibility of an earlier release date almost certainly being impacted by these confirmed COVID-19 delays.

Kitase also noted that the team can’t really talk about Final Fantasy 7 Remake Chapter 2‘s story, but did state that Sephiroth will play a major role in the upcoming game. While that would tend to suggest that future Final Fantasy 7 Remake chapters will continue to alter the original’s story in notable ways, there has already been some debate on the extent of the remake’s future plot deviations in the wake of Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s somewhat controversial ending and the implications it may have on future chapters.