Recently, at PAX West 2026, Square Enix held a panel titled "From Reunion to Resolve: Crafting the FF7 Remake Trilogy." Project Director Naoki Hamaguchi and Battle Director Teruki Endo took the stage to review the entire development process of the remake project. They also revealed combat and system details for the final chapter, Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, and clearly stated that the conclusion of the trilogy does not mark the end of the Final Fantasy VII IP's story.
This remake project is not simply a high-definition remaster of the original 1997 game. Its core objective is to introduce Final Fantasy VII to a new generation of players, with the hope that the IP will continue to produce new content for the next two to three decades, creating an evolving long-term IP universe. However, specific details about new projects following the trilogy have not yet been announced.
Regarding the FITS tactical suit system, which is central to the final chapter, Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that he rejected the team's initial design proposal. The development group originally planned to have the four tactical suits—Warrior, Knight, Black Mage, and Summoner—which change character roles and abilities, unlocked gradually through completion rewards and grinding. Hamaguchi insisted that all FITS sets be unlocked from the start, preventing players from having to grind repeatedly to unlock job appearances, thus allowing them to freely experiment with all combat styles from the early stages of the game. The FITS system directly alters character combat actions and abilities while retaining the existing Materia and equipment progression systems, similar to the series' traditional job system.
In this game, the Warrior job expands offensive gameplay through character-specific abilities. The Black Mage excels in powerful elemental magic. The Knight specializes in defense and providing support to allies. The Summoner is adept at summoning and combo attacks. Each character can customize their combat style through these jobs, a system expected to unlock 5-6 hours into the game. In addition to the outfits associated with the job system, there are numerous costumes to collect. Some of these costumes are quirky and fun, and players can unlock them gradually during gameplay.
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis introduces playable characters Cid and Vincent. The official introduction highlights their combat specialties: Vincent can use firearms and transform into his Galian Beast form, with the game further fleshing out his backstory; Cid focuses on heavy-hitting melee damage. The game retains the card minigame "Queen's Blood," and the open world allows players to freely traverse the entire planet aboard the classic Highwind airship. The Chocobo Piko will grow alongside the party, unlocking exploration and combat abilities. Players can switch controlled characters at any time during exploration, and assigning different members to certain tasks will lead to branching narrative changes.
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis will be released on April 8, 2027, launching on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC platforms.