A Beloved PS4/PS5 Recreation is Dropping Its Console Exclusivity Standing in 2026, and That is for the Greatest

PlayStation has constructed its popularity on the backs of must-play exclusives, however now one of many console’s finest and brightest is leaping ship to different platforms. Certainly, Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake and Remaining Fantasy 7 Rebirth are headed to Nintendo Swap 2 and Xbox Collection consoles in January 2026, which might be learn as Sony dropping its vice-grip on its hottest IP. Nonetheless, the truth of Final Fantasy 7‘s evolution is extra sophisticated than that.

Regardless of being one of many best-reviewed video games of 2024, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth failed to satisfy gross sales expectations, in keeping with a Sq. Enix monetary outcomes briefing in September 2024. It is not precisely clear what expectations the corporate had forward of the sport’s launch, however many have speculated that they have been fairly excessive. Throughout the identical monetary briefing, Sq. acknowledged that Remaining Fantasy 16, a timed PlayStation unique, underperformed as nicely. Each of those statements adopted a Could 2024 announcement that Sq. Enix can be “aggressively pursuing” a multiplatform launch technique, indicating an unambiguous need to make a ways between it and Sony for the foreseeable future. That is all nicely and good for the corporate’s revenue margins and total income, however what does it imply for the folks really enjoying these video games?

Forspoken, one other Sq. Enix PlayStation unique launched in 2023, additionally reportedly underperformed.

Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake & Rebirth Deserve To Be Greater

Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake & Remaining Fantasy 7 Rebirth Swap 2 & Xbox launch date: January 22, 2026

Possibly Sq. Enix did have extraordinarily excessive expectations for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s sales, however that would not be fully unreasonable given the scope of the sport. You may really feel the cash poured into it whereas enjoying: FF7 Rebirth has cutting-edge graphics, a ridiculously huge open-world, important gameplay selection by way of mini-games and the like, and a number of the finest setpieces the JRPG style has ever seen.

For higher or worse, publishers (particularly goliaths like Sq. Enix) count on important returns on investments as weighty as FF7 Rebirth and FF7 Remake. Greater than this, bringing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Remake to other platforms additional will increase the IP’s attain and visibility, serving to it accumulate a broader participant base. This is not simply good for Sq. Enix; it is good for customers too.

Higher FF7 Remake & Rebirth Gross sales Will Probably Imply Extra Remaining Fantasy Remakes

Whereas it is considerably contentious—old-school followers have criticized it for adulterating or dumbing down the unique recreation, as an illustration—the Final Fantasy 7 remake saga is undeniably fashionable total. The video games is perhaps a bit overdeveloped at factors, however they’re entertaining, spectacular, and mechanically sound reimaginings of the FF7 story, tailor-made to fashionable audiences. And for those who do not just like the remakes, the unique Remaining Fantasy 7 remains to be there, untouched and in all its late-90s glory.

The purpose is that this: Remaining Fantasy‘s remakes have worth, not solely as nostalgia-baiting throwbacks, however as up to date action-RPGs, standing tall towards its fashionable opponents. One may simply think about the potential of a Final Fantasy 8 remake, on the very least; even comparatively newer Remaining Fantasy video games, like Remaining Fantasy X or Remaining Fantasy 12, might be recreated with fashionable visuals, fight, facet content material, and quality-of-life options.

However as promising as these hypothetical remakes is perhaps from a creative and leisure perspective, they will not come to fruition until Sq. Enix finds such ventures sufficiently worthwhile. With that in thoughts, bringing Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth to Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Collection platforms could also be a obligatory prerequisite for improvement and funding. Put one other means, if audiences need extra Remaining Fantasy remakes, they need to additionally need the present remakes to generate extra income. For this to occur, a multi-platform launch technique is smart.

Are There Any Downsides to Bringing FF7 Remake & Rebirth to Swap 2, Xbox Collection X|S?

Console exclusivity is commonly an odd factor: “dropping” exclusives might be seen as detrimental by some gamers, who might really feel that such a loss undermines their funding in a given console. This can be a truthful, if not essentially full, stance, and there are different arguments one may make in opposition to Final Fantasy 7‘s remakes going cross-platform as nicely. For example:

Improvement help: Sony has been identified to supply help for Sq. Enix studios creating PlayStation exclusives. This might decline or stop altogether if the businesses develop additional aside.
Competitors: There’s additionally concern that, with out massive console exclusives, there may be much less motive for a number of platforms to exist, which may result in sure firms transferring away from consoles down the street and there being much less competitors within the gaming house — resulting in much less motivation to make nice video games.
Efficiency: Whereas extra highly effective than its predecessors, the Swap 2 nonetheless falls behind the PS5 and Xbox Collection X|S on the {hardware} entrance. This might end in compromised scope, scale, or visuals in future Remaining Fantasy tasks.

These are cons value contemplating, however they hardly outweigh the advantages of bringing the Remaining Fantasy 7 remake saga to different consoles. Other than the truth that extra gross sales and visibility make future Final Fantasy remakes extra probably, cross-platform releases are consumer-friendly, making certain that every one avid gamers can take pleasure in these modernized titles, no matter the place they select to play.