Ever since the reveal of Final Fantasy VII Remake as a three-part series series, fans have wondered about the arrival date of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second part of the remake trilogy. The current timeline still lists “Next Winter” as the release window. However, producer Yoshinori Kitase provided a teeny-tiny update, saying via a Gematsu translation, “I hope to be able to deliver an update on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth when the timing is right. Please look forward to it!”
Not the most noteworthy update on the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, but it does arrive along with a few other tidbits. Kitase also mentioned that Square Enix will continue to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII with its seven promotional campaigns. Siliconera reports that we’ve seen three of these campaigns so far; one on Twitter, one on Cloud’s birthday, and one offering a Buster Sword body pillow to coincide with the release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: Reunion.
Released earlier this month on December 12th, 2022, Crisis Core delivered a remake of the 2007 PSP prequel to Final Fantasy VII. In our review, we praised the title as “a masterclass in how to remaster a game.” We also awarded the semi-remake a spot as one of our top ten games of 2022.
For those who have played Final Fantasy VII Remake, the Japanese voice actor for Zack Fair, Kenichi Suzumura, confirmed that Zack will play an “active role” in Rebirth. Since Crisis Core released this December after a “This Winter” announcement, it seems likely that Rebirth will arrive in December 2023 as “Next Winter,” though an early 2024 release isn’t out of the question.
In the meantime, Square Enix still has Final Fantasy XVI lined up for June 22 of this coming year, so perhaps Kitase is waiting for more news to arrive on that title before providing more Rebirth content.