‘Final Fantasy 14’ director hints at ‘Final Fantasy 9’ remake

Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida has hinted that Square Enix might be working on a remake of Final Fantasy 9.

• READ MORE: ‘Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’ review: this first-class remake will put you on cloud nine

Over the weekend, Yoshida confirmed the next Final Fantasy 14 expansion Dawntrail would be releasing at the very start of July, while those who pre-order it will get early access from June 28.

Pre-oder bonuses also include wind-up minions based on Final Fantasy 9’s main heroes Garnet and Zidane as well as FF9’s Ark Summon as a FF14 mount. That’s suspicious enough but speaking on stage, Yoshida added: “You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here, but the reason is a secret.”

Many fans are now speculating that Square Enix may be working on a remake of Final Fantasy 9, following rumours caused by a 2021 Nvidia leak of future titles.

Final Fantasy 9 was originally released in 2000 for the original PlayStation and was developed alongside FF8. In 2021, an animated series inspired by FF9 was announced by Cyber Group Studios who reportedly would be developing the show alongside Square Enix.

“The games have a strong co-viewing potential. For those who do know Final Fantasy 9, this will be an [reintroduction]. And for the many who don’t, this will immerse them in a universe they’ll love,” CEO Pierre Sissmann said at the time. Production was due to begin the same year, but neither Square Enix or Cyber Group Studios have mentioned the project in recent years, leading many to believe it was cancelled.

Square Enix is currently in the midst of its ambitious Final Fantasy 7 remake project, with the second instalment of the trilogy releasing earlier this month. Developers have said they aren’t done working on expansions for Rebirth yet while the third, as-of-yet-untitled instalment, has yet to receive a release window.

Yoshida also confirmed the studio originally wanted to release the Dawntrail expansion earlier but delayed it to avoid it clashing with the launch of Elden Ring DLC, Shadow Of The Erdtree.

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