The year 2022 has come to a close, and the teams at Square Enix have some year-end messages to share. 2023 is already looking to be an eventful one, with Final Fantasy XIV's new patch Gods Revel, Lands Tremble kicking things off on January 10. Not long after, Forspoken will release on PC and PlayStation 5 on January 24th, marking the team's debut title as Luminous Productions after developing Final Fantasy XV. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line compiles an absolutely massive list of Final Fantasy music into a rhythm game for PlayStation 4 and Switch, and is due out on February 16th. Octopath Traveler II follows up shortly after on February 24th, a Switch exclusive title that features the same style as the first but with new protagonists and a new world to explore. Into the Summer season, Final Fantasy XVI will launch on PlayStation 5, and new information about the game will pick up the pace as we enter the final six months before release. Development on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is also accelerating, says its producer Yoshinori Kitase, and is scheduled for a Winter release — which means we could see it in early 2024. The Kingdom Hearts series will start

A wave of interviews centered on various Final Fantasy VII projects are making the rounds today including some new insight on the recently announced Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second part in the three part Final Fantasy VII Remake project. Of note, there's a lot of talk on the game's "fast pace" development, which is quite a feat for a high-profile large-scale HD game such as this. Speaking with 4Gamer and translated by Genki, producer Yoshinori Kitase tells that the Remake project was always intended to be developed in installments. Keeping the core team intact, the Remake team started work on FFVII Rebirth, which allowed development to progress very quickly. This is different from past games in the series, which would usually shed their teams once a game was completed - a philosophy that will hold true for the third installment when it enters full scale development in the future. "Currently, of course, we are developing FFVII Rebirth, but we have already started working on things such as plot and script for the third game," says creative director Tetsuya Nomura. "Even though we're calling it a trilogy, it feels like we've been making it continuously without pause." Further information comes from

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be the second title in a trilogy of games dubbed the Final Fantasy VII remake project. The follow-up to 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake, Rebirth will continue "the Unknown Journey" proclaimed in the first game's credits. It will release in Winter 2023/2024 for PlayStation 5; no other platforms have been revealed at this time. In the "First Look" trailer below, we see Cloud and Sephiroth travelling through the wilderness presumably close to Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown. In the narration, we hear several characters recounting the the events of the original 1997 title a bit... differently. Official statements from the team have also been shared: Tetsuya Nomura (Creative Director) "As revealed on the broadcast, there are currently four Final Fantasy VII projects being developed in parallel. Although each of the four titles plays a different role, they are all connected through the high-quality depictions of Final Fantasy VII's world and characters. As someone who was involved with the development of each and everyone of the original titles, I deeply understand the vision and thoughts behind each project, and I am actively involved in the development process for all four titles. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed so that people can enjoy