After years of eschewing Xbox, Square Enix is back with a vengeance.
A year ago, I reported that Square Enix would begin bringing its whole slate of games to Xbox consoles. Up until then, Square Enix was bringing its games to practically every platform except Xbox, with its high-end 3D titles being exclusive to PlayStation and PC. A year later, and it feels like the entire industry has changed.
Microsoft has begun putting its games on PlayStation. PlayStation has even started publishing its games on Xbox. Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! It’s not just the platform holders rethinking exclusivity, though.
Square Enix signalled deeper support for Xbox in a range of interviews running up to last year’s Tokyo Game Show, where the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection was revealed for Xbox PC and Xbox consoles. Earlier in the summer, Square Enix pledged Final Fantasy 16, and now Final Fantasy 7 Remake as well — both with Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming support on top.
Xbox went from the platform with the spottiest Square Enix support to arguably the best Square Enix support. Thanks to Xbox backwards compatibility, Xbox has become the only place where you can play various legacy Final Fantasy titles, even among games that never saw a PC release. Other Square Enix games like Octopath Traveller, Triangle Strategy, and Dragon Quest have also been arriving on Xbox with expanded support, too.
Ahead of Xbox’s Tokyo Game Show 2025 festivities, we had the opportunity to talk to Square Enix’s Naoki Hamaguchi, who has been leading the charge remaking what is arguably the firm’s most legendary title — Final Fantasy 7.
A change of the guard led to a new reality for Square Enix and Xbox
“That’s a very good question,” Hamaguchi started, “I think firstly, we have a new president at Square Enix, so we do have a new direction when it comes to multiplatform game releases. I believe that is the most vital point. The vision is to deliver Final Fantasy to a broader and wider audience through multiplatform releases, on multiple devices. Whether this is Xbox Cloud Gaming, console devices, or handheld PCs — that is very much now the core philosophy of Square Enix.
I noted personally that I was grateful and happy to see Square Enix lend greater support to Xbox, as someone in the ecosystem. Naoki Hamaguchi felt the same way.
“I’m definitely an Xbox fan myself. I’m going to do my best to make sure that Square Enix can continue to reach a wider audience, including Xbox. So thank you from me as well.”
“I’m definitely an Xbox fan myself. I’m going to do my best to make sure that Square Enix can continue to reach a wider audience, including Xbox. So thank you from me as well.”
Naoki Hamaguchi, Square Enix, Game Director
Circling back to handheld PCs, I was curious how Naoki Hamaguchi felt about the Xbox Series S and upcoming Xbox Ally, given his programming background. The Xbox Series S has often been the target of criticism by commentators, but many developers have also praised the Xbox Series S as an optimization target. I noted that I was impressed by how well Final Fantasy 7 Remake ran on my Steam Deck, for example.
“In terms of hardware specs, I would say the Xbox Series S is actually quite solid in terms of spec. We didn’t come across much of a processing challenge, but many of the challenges were more memory related.
Optimization is something we were strongly cognizant of as we worked on the PC version as well. For Final Fantasy 7 Remake, we took some of the philosophies found in Nanite for Unreal Engine 5 and created our own solution for Unreal Engine 4. We were successful in delivering stable graphics there, and gain Steam Deck verification as well. We have been pretty proud of what we were able to achieve, even on lower spec systems.”
Final Fantasy 7 Remake design philosophy, and the future
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a bit of a misnomer. It’s not a direct remake in the sense that it directly mirrors the original. It diverges in pretty large ways from what fans of the original might expect, both in terms of story and gameplay, while leaving many of the big nostalgic story beats intact.
As director of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I was curious how Naoki Hamaguchi felt about the way the game had been delivered and received, and if they would consider doing anything differently.
“We decided to construct Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a trilogy,” Hamaguchi explains. “If we were to totally align with the original, and replicate it exactly, I believe that would still appeal to players. But because it became a larger trilogy, we felt there was a necessity to change things up and try different things, to maintain interest across each part, and pique player’s curiosity.
I understand that there are differing opinions regarding choices we have made for the Remake series, but I think as a whole, as a developer, I do think that these were the right decisions to make. I can’t comment yet on [Final Fantasy 7 Remake] Part 3, but I am also a big fan of the original Final Fantasy 7. I am someone who played it when it first released, too. I believe that the direction that we are taking the series will ultimately satisfy fans who are eagerly awaiting its conclusion.”
As someone who has enjoyed the Final Fantasy 7 Remake vision so far, I couldn’t help but ask what Naoki Hamaguchi would like to tackle next in the same context. With infinite time, money, and resources, what Final Fantasy “remake” project would Naoki Hamaguchi tackle next?
“If I had all the time and money in the world, Final Fantasy 6 is my favorite mainline title. That would be very cool to take on as a remake. That being said, I’ve put my heart and soul into the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series for over a decade now. Working on something completely new would be quite fun as well.”
September has been stacked for new games, so I also wanted to ask Naoki Hamaguchi what, if anything, he’d been able to play or look forward to playing. What games inspired him?
“Since we’re talking Xbox, I’d like to share my favorite Xbox title. I absolutely love the Fable series. I love that sense of freedom and choice, and how the player’s actions really impact the world. Fable has had a positive influence on my own creative work. Since there’s a new Fable title in development, I’m eagerly awaiting it. Looking forward to it.”
A bright future for Xbox fans of Square Enix games
The video game industry’s dropping of exclusive games has been an unexpected evolution over the past few years. The battle for new players, regardless of where they are, has forced PlayStation and Microsoft to rethink their approach to their walled platforms. In a universe where players have become digitally locked into their chosen platforms, it doesn’t make as much sense to gatekeep content anymore.
Microsoft has worked hard to rebuild trust with Japanese studios over the past few years, spearheaded by the likes of Mena Kato Sato, who now runs Xbox Asia. Microsoft still has work to do with other companies, such as Nihon Falcom, Konami, as well as smaller Japanese developers — but the wins keep coming.
As a fan of Square Enix’s games, it has been a delight to see the support roll in. A huge thank you to Naoki Hamaguchi and his team for fielding our questions, and thanks to all of you for reading.
Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection are available now on Xbox and Xbox PC, with Final Fantasy 7 Remake slated for January 22, 2026.
