Final Fantasy VII Revelation's director canceled his team's long vacation after caving to fan demand for DLC. Read on to find out why Square Enix is developing for another year.
FF7 Revelation's Director Canceled His Team's Long Vacation to Make Two Story DLCs
Naoki Hamaguchi Admits It's His Fault Developers Were Sent Into 'Despair' Instead of Getting a Break
Final Fantasy VII Revelation was supposed to conclude a decade-long production cycle with a well-earned break for its core team—until director Naoki Hamaguchi caved to fan demand for DLC.
Speaking with Gamertag Radio on September 10, the director revealed that he postponed his team’s long-awaited vacation to produce two story DLCs, locking the studio into another full year of development.
This follows Sony's State of Play the week prior, where Square Enix confirmed two post-launch expansions for the title's Story Expansion Pass. While Square Enix decided against creating DLC for 2024’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to invest all development resources into the finale, Hamaguchi explained that behind the scenes, the roadmap for the third entry was rewritten at the very last minute.
During the interview, he reflected on the milestone of keeping the same core development team together across an entire decade to deliver three AAA titles back-to-back. Having stayed together for ten continuous years since work began on the remake project, the team was finally looking forward to an extended break to celebrate wrapping up the trilogy.
Instead of letting developers wind down, Hamaguchi delivered the news that they were channeling that transitional bandwidth straight into DLC pre-production.
According to Hamaguchi, dropping the news right at the finish line left "the team in complete despair." While the director acknowledged wanting to grant everyone a long vacation, he explained that he had to ask his staff to " work hard for about another year."
Fan Demand Reshaped the Final Chapter’s Roadmap
The sudden pivot traces back to an interview with Famitsu following Summer Game Fest, where Hamaguchi revealed that Square Enix would consider DLC for the finale if fan demand was strong enough. Taking the blame for opening that floodgate, he admitted on Gamertag Radio that relentless follow-up questions from fans and media left him little choice but to greenlight two expansions.
According to the official Square Enix store listing, the Story Expansion Pass will roll out in two waves: DLC 1, focusing on Sephiroth's past in Winter 2027, followed by DLC 2, spotlighting Vincent Valentine and the Turks in Spring 2028.
Source:
Gamertag Radio Interview
Famitsu Interview
Square Enix Official Store
