Final Fantasy 9has gotten a lot of promotion in the first half of this year for its 25th anniversary. A new website was created for the event, featuring newFF9merchandise and new artwork from original artist Toshiyuki Itahana, and Square Enix even released a celebratory video for the huge milestone. Leading up to the anniversary yesterday, there were a lot of reasons to be excited aboutFF9. The biggest hope from most fans, however, was an official announcement of the long-rumoredFF9remake, which ended up beingnotably absent from Square Enix’s celebration post.
The rumor mill for a remake ofFF9remake began when themassive 2021 NVIDIA leakhappened, revealing dozens of projects, most of which have now been announced. A later leak from the Epic Games Store detailing potential pre-order bonuses forFF9remake, including “a Tetra Master starter pack” and “Thief’s Knives,” referencing the popular card mini-game and lead character Zidane’s main weapons, respectively. Now that the anniversary has come and gone, many fans are starting to lose faith in the remake’s continued development,but I’m not convinced it doesn’t exist(yet).
Final Fantasy 9 Remake Could Still Exist
The Game Has Yet To Be Officially Announced
All hope should not be lost. TheFF9remake could very well still exist, and Square Enix may just not be ready to show the game. A lot of worry about the game’s supposed internal cancellation comes from leaker NateTheHate, also known asNateDrakeon ResetEra, who wrote a reply to a fan asking about theFF9remake that claims"as of last check it remains in development"but thathe “did hear a month or so ago that it was in trouble and possibly cancelled.”
As of last check it remains in development, to my knowledge; but I need to do a fresh check & see what a more current status is – as I did hear a month or so ago that it was in trouble & possibly cancelled. I only had one source on the cancellation possibility and need to verify the info further. - NateDrake
NateDrake’s assertion that he needs to check on the possibility of cancellation hedges the statement, so there’s no point in taking the possibility as fact. While the game could very well have been in development and canceled at some point,there don’t seem to be any additional sources or rumors specifically about a cancellationof the purported project. That message was posted right before the anniversary date, and when the rumoredFF9remake wasn’t announced, some fans placed more weight on the cancellation message.
However, this rumor (along with the game’s existence at all) is just that: a rumor. Rumors should always be given their due skepticism. It’s reasonable to assume the remake existed at some point, given the pre-order bonuses, and theFF9remake is also thelast remaining Square Enix gamethat has not been announced from the NVIDIA leak. It could very well be thatSquare Enix simply isn’t ready to show the game, with the company going through a massive internal restructuring and shifting its business philosophy.
Canceling FF9 Remake Would Hurt The Square Enix Brand Even More
The Series Is Going Through An Identity Crisis
Themuddy identity ofFinal Fantasyis in a bit of a crisis at the moment.Final Fantasy 16is an almost straight action game, whileFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis a remake of the most popular game that introduces a hybrid combat system, making it difficult for fans to ever know what to expect when a newFFgame is announced.Almost every entry sinceFinal Fantasy 10has seen a drastic overhaulin tone, gameplay, game design, and pretty much everything else.
APZonerunner, a features editor at VG247, stated in a post on ResetEra that Square Enix had canceled numerous projects and that 2025 would be a quiet year for Square Enix, until its new business strategy to produce fewer games is in full swing. He speculatedFF9remake was not part of those cancellations and that it would be a while before it’s announced.
The massive success ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33, which took inspiration from theFinal Fantasyseries and other JRPG franchises, has been turning the heads of both fans and Square Enix itself. Recently, it was reported that a shareholder at Square Enix specifically requested the nextFFandDragon Questgames be turn-based, based onExpedition 33’s success. The idea of aFinal Fantasygame being turn-based in 2025 or beyond is almost alien, sogoing back to franchise roots with a remake ofFF9seems like the safest way to test the waters for the future.
Square Enix needs to bring in new fans and retain franchise veterans, and the best way to do that is often with a modern remake of an existing popular game. The argument can be made that Square Enix has done that already with theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy, but a remake divided into multiple parts across multiple years and console generationsisn’t the most appealing offering. If theFF9remake is smaller scale and more of a graphical overhaul than anything else,it might be the game Square Enix needs right now.
There Are Two Major Events FF9 Could Appear At
If It’s Not At Either, The Game Could Likely Be Canceled
Personally, I never expectedFF9remake to be announced this week, given the current statuses of Square Enix and theFinal Fantasyfranchise. BothFF16andFF7 Rebirthwere financial disappointments, according to Square Enix, and whileFF9does have a lot of fans, the game isn’t as popular asFF7.A remake ofFF9isn’t a game that should be shadow-dropped on a random Monday, even if it is for the anniversary. Square Enix is also notorious for announcing games too early, like announcingKingdom Hearts 4for that series' 20th anniversary in 2022 before largely going radio silent.
Square Enix, aligning with its new business strategy, would need to give therecently announcedFinal Fantasy Tacticsremastera chance to breathe for its September release, andannouncing anFF9remake now would detract from that game’s momentum. With that in mind, there are two big events left this year that could be good avenues for aFF9announcement.
The first one is Tokyo Game Show 2025, taking place September 25 to 28.Square Enix is a confirmed exhibitor at the showand has announced major projects there in the past. That would also be right before the release of theFF Tacticsremaster on September 30, and aFF9remake announcement there could organically move theFinal Fantasyconversation fromTacticstoFF9.
The second potential reveal location is at The Game Awards 2025 on December 11. Square Enix has debuted trailers at the show before, but neitherFF7 RebirthnorFF16were announced at the event in previous years. However, ifFF9remake is coming, and we don’t see part three of theRemaketrilogy there,it’s possible that theFF9remake could be officially announced instead.
IfFF9isn’t at either of these events, I’ll finally be convinced that theFF9remake has been canceled. For now, the answer about whetherFinal Fantasy 9remake has been internally canceled or not is simply that we don’t know. It’s too early to say one way or the other — not all hope is lost, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up either.
