After a decade spent breathing new life into a beloved classic, director Naoki Hamaguchi has quietly closed the door on the remake chapter of his career. With the final installment of the Final Fantasy VII trilogy approaching its 2027 release, Hamaguchi is turning his gaze not toward another reimagining — specifically, the long-requested Final Fantasy VI remake — but toward the open horizon of original creation. It is the familiar story of an artist who, having honored the past with great care, finds himself called by something not yet made.
FF7 Remake Director Hamaguchi Eyes New JRPG, Not FF6 Remake
The remake era, at least for him, is over.
Mark
So Hamaguchi's been working on FF7 remakes for ten years. That's a long time to spend in one world. Does he seem burned out?
Mimi
Not burned out exactly—more like he's ready for a different kind of challenge. He's been interpreting someone else's vision for a decade. Now he wants to create something from scratch.
Luke
But we should be careful here. He said he wants to do a new JRPG, but he didn't announce anything. We don't know if Square Enix has greenlit a project, or if this is just him thinking out loud about what he'd like to do eventually.
Mark
Fair point. So fans are definitely asking for FF6 remake, and he's basically saying no?
Mimi
He's saying no for himself, but he's not dismissing the idea entirely. He thinks another creator at Square Enix could do it justice. It's a respectful way of declining without closing the door on the project existing.
Luke
Right, and that's important to note. He's not saying FF6 shouldn't be remade. He's saying he personally doesn't want to be the one doing it. Those are different things.
Mark
What about the timeline? When would he even start thinking about this next project?
Mimi
Not until FF7 Revelation is done. That's spring 2027. So we're probably looking at 2027 or 2028 before anything new is even announced.
Luke
And that's assuming Square Enix has something ready to go. There's a lot of uncertainty baked into this. He wants to do a new JRPG, but what that actually is—whether it's a new FF game, a new IP, when it starts—none of that's determined yet.
Der Puls
- Fan demand for a Final Fantasy VI remake has been loud and persistent, making Hamaguchi one of the most obvious candidates to lead it — a pressure he is now publicly stepping away from.
- A decade of reinterpreting someone else's world has quietly accumulated into creative restlessness, and Hamaguchi is signaling that the weight of remake work has reached its natural limit for him.
- Rather than abandon the genre that defines him, he is drawing a careful distinction: not leaving JRPGs, but insisting his next contribution to them be something entirely his own.
- He has suggested a FF6 remake would be better entrusted to another Square Enix creator, leaving the door open for the project to exist — just without him at the helm.
- Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches spring 2027, and only once that work is complete will Hamaguchi begin charting what comes next — a new RPG, whether Final Fantasy or a wholly new IP.
After a decade spent breathing new life into a beloved classic, director Naoki Hamaguchi has quietly closed the door on the remake chapter of his career. With the final installment of the Final Fantasy VII trilogy approaching its 2027 release, Hamaguchi is turning his gaze not toward another reimagining — specifically, the long-requested Final Fantasy VI remake — but toward the open horizon of original creation. It is the familiar story of an artist who, having honored the past with great care, finds himself called by something not yet made.
Naoki Hamaguchi has spent ten years guiding the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy from concept to near-completion. With the final chapter, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, set for a spring 2027 release across major platforms, the natural question has emerged: what comes next? His answer has surprised many.
In a conversation with Game Informer, Hamaguchi addressed the widespread fan calls for him to lead a Final Fantasy VI remake — and declined. He acknowledged the online groundswell but drew a clear line, suggesting the project would be better placed in the hands of another creator at Square Enix. The reasoning isn't reluctance toward the material; it's something closer to creative exhaustion with the remake form itself.
A decade of reinterpreting an existing world has left him hungry to build something new. He was careful to clarify that he isn't stepping away from JRPGs — the genre remains his home. But he wants his next work to be original rather than inherited, whether that means a new Final Fantasy title or an entirely different intellectual property, as long as it carries the grand scale Square Enix is known for.
For now, his attention stays fixed on delivering Revelation. Only after that release will the shape of his next project begin to emerge. But the signal is already out: for Hamaguchi, the era of remakes is drawing to a close.
Naoki Hamaguchi has spent the last decade shepherding the Final Fantasy VII remake series through three full games. Now that the final chapter, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, is nearing completion ahead of its spring 2027 release, the question of what comes next has begun circulating among fans and industry observers alike. The answer, it turns out, is not what many have been hoping for.
In an interview with Game Informer, Hamaguchi made clear that despite widespread fan demand for a Final Fantasy VI remake, he has no intention of taking that project on himself. The director acknowledged seeing the requests online and understands the appetite for it, but he's drawn a firm line: he believes the work would be better served in someone else's hands at Square Enix. "I do see a lot of fans and community asking me to take on the helm for a FF6 remake," he said. "So, I'm seeing a lot of that floating online, but, you know, a Final Fantasy 6 Remake or any other remake, it could be me, or it could be someone else. Personally, I think that it might be in better hands if it went to another creator in Square Enix."
The reasoning is straightforward enough. A decade spent reinterpreting an existing game—reimagining its story, its characters, its world—has left Hamaguchi hungry for something different. He's not abandoning the JRPG genre entirely. Rather, he's signaling a shift in creative direction: away from remakes, toward original work. "In terms of what I personally want to do, obviously, I think my next creative work is also going to be a JRPG," he explained to Game Informer. The distinction matters. He's not saying he wants to leave the space where he's built his reputation. He's saying he wants to build something new within it.
What that new project might be remains unspecified. Hamaguchi left the door open to either a new Final Fantasy title or an entirely different intellectual property, as long as it carries the scale and ambition that Square Enix has become known for. "When you look at all the other titles that we have released at Square Enix, not just the FF7 Remake series, I think Square Enix, as a brand, as a company, is more than capable of delivering this grand-scale RPG that could resonate to gamers across the world," he said. "Fans might have a lot of different expectations, but for me personally, I do want to take on this new challenge with another RPG title after this, whether it be Final Fantasy or a different IP."
For now, Hamaguchi's focus remains on finishing Final Fantasy VII Revelation. The game is scheduled to launch in spring 2027 across Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. Only after that work is complete will he have the space to chart his next course. But the signal is already clear: the remake era, at least for him, is over.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Personally, I think that it might be in better hands if it went to another creator in Square Enix.— Naoki Hamaguchi, on a potential Final Fantasy VI remake
I do want to take on this new challenge with another RPG title after this, whether it be Final Fantasy or a different IP.— Naoki Hamaguchi, on his next creative direction
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