Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, says Square Enix is more likely to invest in new titles and new games than in remakes, and he does not expect to work on another remake anytime soon.

Kitase made the comments in an exclusive interview at the Lucca Comics & Games Festival 2026. The conversation covered his decades-long involvement in the Final Fantasy franchise, his role as brand manager of the series at Square Enix, and why he says he is ready to turn the page. Final Fantasy VII Revelation is still months away and is set to release next year, but Kitase was already looking past it.

New Titles Come First

Square Enix is famous for both original intellectual property and remakes, and Kitase was clear about where the company is heading. Asked how the company balances the two, he said the company is mainly more likely to put money into new titles and new games.

He did not rule out remakes entirely. The Final Fantasy VII remake happened because he and other creators who had worked on the original game had strong feelings toward it. They wanted to create something new that connected to the old game, so new players could understand its appeal the same way long-time fans already did. Kitase said there could be other cases like that, where the company is willing to remake older projects.

That door is open, but it is not wide. For now, the focus is elsewhere.

The Remake That Changed Everything

Kitase described the Final Fantasy VII remake as a project that fulfilled him deeply. Development stretched across many years, and he now says he wants to create new games rather than return to remaking. He admitted he has no particular pull toward another remake for the time being.

“I was very fulfilled by the development of the Final Fantasy VII remake. And at the moment I would like to create new games, but I don’t have any particular feeling towards any kind of remake for a while. So I don’t think I will work on another remake anytime soon.”

That answer matters for fans who have spent years wondering which classic Square Enix title gets the next treatment. Kitase did not name one, and he made it clear that the decision is not simple.

What Makes Final Fantasy Stick

Asked what makes Final Fantasy special, Kitase pointed first to the characters and the way they develop over the course of each game. If he had to choose only one thing, he said it would be the characters and their growth.

He also credited the series’ visual identity. The original aesthetic was strongly influenced by European culture. As development went on, the team drew more from Japan. Kitase and the other creators grew up in Japan, surrounded by comics, anime, and Japanese manga, and those influences came to play a central role in building the game.

Kitase believes that blend of European and Japanese influences helped create something unique within its genre. He thinks fans around the world have responded to that mix.

Film and Television Still on the Table

Final Fantasy has already crossed into other formats, and Kitase did not shut the door on more of that. He said that, given how far the Final Fantasy VII remake explored the world of the story beyond the original, he would like to see games or TV series inspired by the Final Fantasy story in the future. He does not see a reason why that could not happen.

Notably, his comments pointed toward games and television rather than a direct film follow-up.

Inspiration Runs in Both Directions

Kitase was asked about Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, a recent hit that drew heavily from turn-based combat in the RPG tradition. He said he knows the game and has spoken with its creators. He is happy they were inspired by Final Fantasy and built something new from it.

He sees that exchange as a cycle. Kitase said he was inspired by movies as a young person, especially Star Wars, and he has always pulled from the things he loved to build his own games. He called the back-and-forth between creators beautiful and said it should continue.

The Star Wars connection runs deeper than general fandom. Kitase said he once used the names of two Star Wars characters, Biggs and Wedge, as an homage when he could not settle on names for characters in Final Fantasy VI. He also said the idea of sport in a fantasy setting, which became Blitzball in Final Fantasy X, came from the pod race in Star Wars Episode 1.

He said he was careful not to copy Star Wars directly, worried that his work would end up looking identical to it. Instead, he absorbed the stories and let them shape his ideas.

The Fan Question Kitase Could Not Escape

Asked for a favorite Final Fantasy project, Kitase called it a very difficult question. He ultimately chose Final Fantasy VII. He has worked on the series since the original arrived in 1997, which means he has spent 30 years with the same characters and the same storyline. That long attachment is why he feels closest to it.

Requests for a Final Fantasy VI remake continue to come up both inside Square Enix and among fans. Kitase did not commit to it, saying only, “who knows?”

The Next Challenge Is Battle Action

Looking ahead, Kitase said he has been thinking about the next kind of story he wants to tell. He pointed to the tastes of newer generations of players, who he said are very fond of battle games that focus less on story and more on battle action.

He said he may one day try to explore that style without losing the characteristics that define a Final Fantasy story. He described it as a new challenge, since the newer generation seems very interested in that kind of game.

The message is clear: Square Enix is leaning toward new games, the remake era of its biggest franchise is paused for now, and one of its most influential creators is looking for a new kind of challenge. For fans waiting on Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the next chapter may not look like the last one.