Final Fantasy 7 remake series director says “it kind of feels like fate” to return to Nintendo hardware, talks Switch 2 sales
Posted on September 12, 2026 by Brian(@NE_Brian)
in News, Switch 2
Final Fantasy 7 remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi has commented on the Nintendo Switch 2 versions, including how they’ve been selling.
Hamaguchi told Nintendo Everything in a recent interview that “it kind of feels like fate” for the game to be returning to Nintendo hardware. The mainline franchise was well represented on the NES and SNES, but starting with Final Fantasy 7, the series moved to PlayStation. Square Enix began to bring the core series back to Nintendo hardware during the Switch era, and that has continued with Switch 2.
“First of all, I have to say, I personally have a really big emotional connection to Nintendo hardware myself. I’m quite interested to see how they do from a personal perspective because obviously, as you know, Final Fantasy 7 was the first Final Fantasy numbered game which went away from Nintendo hardware. Up until then, it had always been on Nintendo. So it kind of feels like fate, destiny that this is now bringing 7 back to Nintendo hardware.
I’m really interested to see all the people of that certain age who maybe who wouldn’t have continued with their Final Fantasy journey to 7 because it went away from Nintendo, the people who are Nintendo fans. I really want to see them coming back to the Final Fantasy series with the Switch 2 versions of Remake and Rebirth now. So I’m really interested to see how well they’re doing just from that personal perspective.”
We went on to specifically ask what sparked the idea of bringing the Final Fantasy 7 remake series to Nintendo Switch 2 and if there was something that was instigated within Square Enix. That led Hamaguchi to talk about how he was shown the hardware before launch and the company started to pursue more of a multiplatform approach. We were told that things “turned out very well in the end” and the series has done “really well” on Nintendo Switch 2.
“So first of all, when Nintendo was working on the Switch 2 hardware, a little while before they announced it and released it, they gave me a presentation to explain the new hardware. It’s quite a normal thing in the games industry. I’m not saying it was just me, that I’m special (laughs).
When I got that presentation, it really did get me thinking and looking at the hardware. I think that was when – before we even started work on the Switch 2 version – at that point really, I felt with these specs, it’s going to be a challenge, it’s going to be difficult, we’re going to have to work very hard. But that was when I felt the possibility that, yes, the Final Fantasy 7 remake series that we’re working on could be brought to Switch 2. So that was the time I kind of got interested in it.
When I say ‘it was it was the right timing’ is because the question is phrased as ‘Was it my decision or was it the company’s?’ The reason is kind of both, because that was around the same time that I had that presentation from Nintendo and started thinking about Switch 2. Our company changed CEOs. We went from old CEO Mr. Matsuda to our new one, Mr. Kiryu, and he very much had a strong idea and his new policy direction was that all of our games should be going multiplatform as much as possible.
So when we were discussing things and I was trying to make the recommendation to apply for extra funding for the new platforms to be added to the series, that was very much us looking in the same direction. His idea and my idea about where we should be taking the series, the hardware was exactly in line and so then it was a very easy decision and so we felt yes, we have to go ahead with the Switch 2 version.
I think again, looking at it from a completely business perspective though, the decision to go for Switch 2, it turned out very well in the end. We did really well on it. So yeah, I’m very happy we made that decision.
So yeah, I think when we did the announcement of Summer Game Fest for Revelation, that was very positively received and that had a very big effect on the sales of the first two games. I think that did a very big contribution to the company’s financial results this year. It really did contribute greatly to that. But at the same time though, the other thing that I was very delighted by was the reaction we had from the Chinese gaming community and the reaction they saw. So I think, yeah, overall it was a really good decision for a lot of reasons.”
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the final part of the remake trilogy, comes to Nintendo Switch 2 on April 8, 2027. We also have comments from Hamaguchi here on why the game is sticking with Unreal Engine 4 instead of 5.
More: Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, highlight, Naoki Hamaguchi, Square Enix, top
