Final Fantasy 17 is the supposed next mainline numbered entry to the Final Fantasy series, when might it come out? What could it be about? What type of game will it be? Continue to read our theories for the next Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 17 Release Date and Time
Most Likely In the Next 7-8 Years
The most straightforward assumption we can make is 6-8 years, from the release timings of the previous three traditional Final Fantasy (FF) games. FFXIII became available in 2009, FFXV came out in 2016, and FFXVI was released in 2023. Though they have been on track to release every 7 years, developing modern games has been getting longer and grander, with higher standards being set. This, in turn, would require much more time and bigger budgets to finish.
This trend of bigger budgets and longer development time is why only the three most recent games were acknowledged in our prediction. Even though the gap between FFXII and FFXIII was only three years, be aware that game development in the early 2000s is vastly different from today.
Final Fantasy 17 Theories
Who Will be At the Helm for Development?
There are a lot of potential candidates to lead the charge for the next Final Fantasy. Most notable would be FFXVI’s Naoki Yoshida, or Yoshi-P. He is the director and producer of the critically acclaimed MMORPG FFXIV. He led his team, Creative Business Unit 3(CBU3), in the parallel development of FFXIV and FFXVI – a feat almost unheard of. Many fans worldwide have great faith in Yoshi-P to deliver great quality games, and so many are clamoring for him to continue making mainline FF titles. However, he has other feelings on the matter.
He recently appeared in an interview with Shuhei Yoshida, former president at Sony Interactive Entertainment. He was asked if he’d be directing the next installment, FF17, to which Yoshi-P responded, “I’m on the board of directors now, so I have to be careful of what I say here. For the moment, I’ll just say that nothing’s been decided yet. That said, if I had to say anything about that [FFXVII]...maybe it’s time for someone new, you know.”
He thinks that, as FF is an ever-evolving franchise, the newer, younger generation of new blood should be the ones to take the helm of creativity.
“I think in some ways it would be good to look to the future and bring in a younger generation with more youthful sensibilities to make a new FF with challenges that suits today’s world.”
More detailed information about the interview is in the link below.
Final Fantasy Series’ Recent Troubled Development
Before FFXVI, the FF franchise was going through troubled development at every step. FFXIV was initially released as a disaster that had to be rebuilt from the ground up by Yoshi-P. FFXV was never supposed to be a numbered title, as it was initially slated to be part of the FFXIII-Versus universe. It also underwent numerous development changes, seeing a crucial transfer of directors from the Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura, to Hajime Tabata, who previously directed FFVII Crisis Core.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake was also reported to have been in jeopardy in its early stages of development, where the announced director, Nomura himself, wasn’t aware that he was slated to direct the game until the complete trailer was shown to him within the company. (via Eurogamer)
In the aforementioned interview with former Sony president Yoshida, Yoshi-P revealed that he was entrusted with the development of FFXVI due to the faith and respect he had earned from within the company. Former Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda had large trust in CBU3 due to how the unit managed to rebuild FFXIV. From then on, under the supervision of Yoshi-P, things seemed to turn for the better.
What Will the Next Game Be About?
It’s always difficult to ascertain what a new Final Fantasy will be about. Each numbered title is different and unique in its own right, which speaks to the history and prestige of the franchise. FFXV was dubbed “A Fantasy Based on Reality,” featuring real-time action combat, mystical magic folklore, and heavy mech machinery, all within an open-world game – a first for the series. FFXVI did away with the open-world but continued in the action-game genre.
Speaking of the action game genre, Yoshi-P, in the same interview mentioned earlier, said that he wanted Square Enix to explore it further. He admitted that the company has had a poor reputation with regards to action games.
“I’d like to see Square Enix use this gained experience to continue challenging ourselves in the action genre, to make what we haven’t made yet, with even greater storytelling, emotion, and impact.”
Sources:
Eurogamer | Tetsuya Nomura didn't realise he was directing Final Fantasy 7 remake
