Square Enix’s Naoki Hamaguchi on Xbox Series S, ‘Final Fantasy 7 Remake,’ Xbox’s ‘Fable,’ and the future — “I’m definitely an Xbox fan myself.”

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After years of eschewing Xbox, Square Enix is back with a vengeance.

Last year, I shared news that Square Enix planned to release all of its games on Xbox consoles. Previously, Square Enix published its titles on almost every platform *except* Xbox, reserving its biggest 3D games for PlayStation and PC. Now, a year later, it feels like the entire gaming world has shifted.

Microsoft is now releasing its games on PlayStation, and surprisingly, PlayStation is doing the same with its games on Xbox. It feels like a major shift! But it’s not just about the console makers changing their minds about keeping games exclusive to their own systems.

Square Enix has been increasingly supportive of Xbox, as demonstrated by announcements leading up to last year’s Tokyo Game Show, including the release of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection on Xbox consoles and PC. They’ve already committed to bringing Final Fantasy 16 to Xbox, and now Final Fantasy 7 Remake will also be available, with both titles supporting Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Xbox has dramatically improved its support for Square Enix games. It’s gone from having limited options to now being the best place to play many classic Final Fantasy titles – including some that were never released on PC. Plus, newer Square Enix games like Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy, and Dragon Quest are also getting full support on Xbox.

Before the start of Xbox’s events at Tokyo Game Show 2025, we spoke with Naoki Hamaguchi from Square Enix. He’s the producer leading the remake of Final Fantasy 7, one of the most famous video games ever made.

A change of the guard led to a new reality for Square Enix and Xbox

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 22, 2026. Square Enix has also suggested that the third part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be released on Xbox at the same time as the PlayStation version. Xbox players have been waiting a long time for this popular Japanese role-playing game, and I wanted to find out what changed Square Enix’s mind about bringing it to Xbox.

Hamaguchi began by saying, “That’s a great question.” He explained that with a new president at Square Enix, the company is taking a new approach to releasing games on multiple platforms. He emphasized that the main goal is to reach a larger audience by making Final Fantasy available on various devices, including Xbox Cloud Gaming, consoles, and handheld PCs – and that’s now the central idea behind Square Enix’s strategy.

As an Xbox user, I was really pleased to see Square Enix increasing its support for the platform, and Naoki Hamaguchi, from Square Enix, shared that sentiment.

As a big Xbox player myself, I’m committed to helping Square Enix expand its reach, especially to Xbox gamers. So, thank you for your support as well.

As a big Xbox player, I’m really hoping Square Enix keeps finding ways to connect with as many people as possible, and that includes those of us on Xbox. So, I wanted to express my gratitude to them as well.

Naoki Hamaguchi, Square Enix, Game Director

I wanted to get Naoki Hamaguchi’s thoughts on handheld PCs, specifically the Xbox Series S and the new Xbox Ally, considering his experience as a programmer. While some people criticize the Xbox Series S, many developers actually appreciate it as a good platform for optimizing games. I personally was impressed with how smoothly Final Fantasy 7 Remake ran on my Steam Deck, and I was curious if he felt similarly about the Xbox Series S.

The Xbox Series S has surprisingly good hardware. We didn’t find it struggled with processing power, but we did run into some limitations with its memory.

We focused heavily on optimization while developing the PC version. For Final Fantasy 7 Remake, we adapted ideas from Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite technology to create our own solution for Unreal Engine 4. This allowed us to achieve stable graphics performance and earn Steam Deck verification, which we’re very proud of, especially considering we were able to deliver a good experience even on less powerful computers.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake design philosophy, and the future

The title ‘Final Fantasy 7 Remake’ is a little misleading. It doesn’t simply recreate the original game. While it keeps many of the most memorable moments, it significantly changes the story and how it plays, offering something different from what long-time fans might anticipate.

I wondered what Naoki Hamaguchi, as a key figure on Final Fantasy 7 Remake, thought about how the game turned out and whether he’d approach things differently next time. As the director, I was interested in his perspective on the game’s reception and delivery.

Hamaguchi explains that they planned Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a three-part series from the beginning. While simply recreating the original game would have been satisfying for fans, the expanded scope of a trilogy meant they needed to introduce changes and new elements. This was to keep each installment engaging and build anticipation for what comes next.

I know some people have different opinions about the choices we’ve made with the Remake series, but as the developer, I truly believe we’re heading in the right direction. While I can’t talk about Part 3 of *Final Fantasy 7 Remake* just yet, I want to assure fans-especially those who, like me, grew up with the original *Final Fantasy 7*-that we’re committed to delivering a satisfying conclusion to the story.

I’ve been really impressed with the direction of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, so I’m curious what Naoki Hamaguchi would choose to remake next if he had unlimited resources. If he could pick any Final Fantasy game to revisit, what would it be?

Final Fantasy 6 is my personal favorite in the series, and it would be amazing to remake if I had unlimited resources. However, I’ve dedicated over ten years to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project, and I’m also excited by the possibility of creating something entirely new.

With so many new games releasing in September, I was curious to know what Naoki Hamaguchi had been playing or excited about. I also asked him what games influenced his work.

Speaking of Xbox, I have to mention the Fable series – it’s one of my all-time favorites! I really appreciate how much freedom and choice the games offer, and how your decisions actually change the world around you. Fable has even inspired my own creative projects. With a new Fable game currently in development, I’m really excited to see what they come up with and can’t wait to play it.

A bright future for Xbox fans of Square Enix games

Over the last few years, video game companies have surprisingly started releasing games on multiple platforms. This shift is driven by the competition to attract new players, wherever they may be. Both PlayStation and Microsoft are realizing that keeping games exclusive doesn’t make sense when players are already invested in different systems and prefer to have access to content regardless of their chosen platform.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has been actively working to regain the confidence of Japanese game developers, with Mena Kato Sato, head of Xbox Asia, leading the effort. While there’s still progress to be made with companies like Nihon Falcom and Konami, along with many smaller studios, Microsoft continues to see positive results.

It’s been wonderful to see so much support for Square Enix’s games! We’re very grateful to Naoki Hamaguchi and his team for taking the time to answer our questions, and thank you to everyone for reading.

You can now play *Final Fantasy 16* and the *Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection* on Xbox and PC. *Final Fantasy 7 Remake* is coming on January 22, 2026.

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2025-09-25 04:11