Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Director Explains Why Square Enix Is Staying With Unreal Engine 4

7 July 2026
Nintendo Switch 2
10 min.
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Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Director Explains Why Square Enix Is Staying With Unreal Engine 4

Summary:

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will conclude Square Enix’s ambitious remake trilogy without abandoning the technology that helped shape its first two chapters. Director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the development team is continuing to use Unreal Engine 4 rather than rebuilding its production pipeline around Unreal Engine 5. Although the newer engine may sound like the obvious choice on paper, Hamaguchi believes that switching would introduce unnecessary delays while forcing the team to recreate tools, systems, and workflows it has spent years refining.

The decision is not simply about choosing familiarity over progress. Square Enix has heavily customized Unreal Engine 4 throughout the development of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Those modifications allow the team to address technical challenges directly instead of waiting for standard engine features or starting again with an unfamiliar framework. Hamaguchi even revealed that the developers created a rendering solution for Rebirth that performs a role comparable to Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite geometry technology.

From the director’s perspective, players ultimately judge the finished game rather than the number attached to its engine. The strong reaction to Revelation’s Summer Game Fest footage has reinforced the team’s confidence in that approach. By retaining its established technology, Square Enix can focus its resources on polishing the finale, supporting several platforms, and delivering the conclusion without allowing an engine migration to turn the development schedule into a wandering side quest of its own.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation continues with Unreal Engine 4

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed with Unreal Engine 4, continuing the technical foundation used for Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. That choice may initially seem surprising because Unreal Engine 5 has been available for several years and is regularly presented as the more advanced option. Bigger numbers have a peculiar power over us, don’t they? A newer version naturally sounds faster, prettier, and better before we have seen a single frame. Hamaguchi understands that reaction, but he argues that game development cannot be reduced to a simple comparison between version numbers. Square Enix has built an entire production environment around Unreal Engine 4, including customized tools and technology created specifically for the remake project. Revelation is therefore not being made with an untouched or outdated engine. It is using a mature, heavily modified foundation that the developers understand down to its smallest gears. For a project already carrying enormous expectations, that knowledge provides something more valuable than novelty: control.

Why moving to Unreal Engine 5 would extend development

Changing engines during the final chapter of a connected trilogy would involve much more than opening the project in a newer application and pressing a cheerful upgrade button. Development pipelines contain rendering systems, asset tools, animation processes, scripting frameworks, performance settings, debugging methods, and countless project-specific solutions. Moving Revelation to Unreal Engine 5 would require the team to examine, rebuild, test, and validate much of that work. Some existing systems could potentially transfer, while others might behave differently or need to be replaced entirely. Hamaguchi explained that this reset would extend the development cycle, creating a result that would make little sense from either a business perspective or a player’s perspective. Square Enix wants to deliver the conclusion efficiently rather than keeping fans waiting while the developers reconstruct technology they already possess in another form. A shiny new toolbox is not especially helpful when the current one already contains every carefully shaped instrument needed for the job.

An established production pipeline gives Square Enix an advantage

The remake team’s familiarity with Unreal Engine 4 represents years of accumulated knowledge rather than simple resistance to change. Final Fantasy 7 Remake established the foundation, while Rebirth expanded it to support broad environments, rapid traversal, detailed settlements, cinematic battles, minigames, and a much less linear structure. Each challenge gave the developers another opportunity to improve their tools and understand how the engine behaves under pressure. Revelation can benefit from those lessons from the beginning of production. Artists already know how to prepare assets for the pipeline, programmers understand where bottlenecks are likely to appear, and designers can work within systems that have survived two enormous releases. This continuity reduces the number of technical surprises that could derail production. It also allows more time to be spent refining the adventure itself. Players are unlikely to celebrate a flawless engine migration if it delays the finale or distracts the developers from its characters, battles, environments, and emotional conclusion.

The decision was settled early to keep the team focused

Hamaguchi did not leave the engine question open throughout production. He informed the team early that Revelation would continue with Unreal Engine 4 and that the choice would not become an ongoing debate. That firmness served an important practical purpose. Developers are naturally curious about new technology, particularly when an engine update introduces highly promoted features. Without a clear direction, teams can lose valuable time experimenting with alternatives, reconsidering previous decisions, or wondering whether their current work will eventually be replaced. By settling the matter early, Hamaguchi gave everyone a stable target. Team members could build for the established pipeline without looking over their shoulders at a possible migration. Creative experimentation could then happen inside the project rather than around its foundations. It is the development equivalent of choosing a destination before starting the car. You can still take interesting roads along the way, but endlessly debating which vehicle to use will not bring you any closer.

Custom technology lets Unreal Engine 4 reach beyond its defaults

Describing Revelation as an Unreal Engine 4 game does not fully explain the technology operating beneath its surface. Square Enix has repeatedly modified the engine to match the demands of the remake trilogy. Hamaguchi noted that the team has experience creating and extending game engines, which means it can alter Unreal Engine 4 when an obstacle appears instead of treating the software as an immovable box. This ability changes the entire discussion. The question is no longer whether standard Unreal Engine 4 contains every feature associated with Unreal Engine 5. It becomes whether Square Enix’s customized environment can produce the visual quality, performance, and scale required by Revelation. The team believes it can. Years of modifications have effectively produced a project-specific branch of the technology, one shaped around Cloud’s journey rather than the needs of every possible developer. That tailored approach gives the studio room to improve familiar systems without accepting the cost and uncertainty of rebuilding the entire project.

Square Enix created its own answer to Nanite

Nanite is one of Unreal Engine 5’s best-known features. It is a virtualized geometry system designed to handle extremely detailed geometric assets efficiently, allowing developers to display complex objects while the engine manages how that detail is rendered. Its name often appears in conversations about next-generation graphics, making it an easy feature to point toward when comparing Unreal Engine versions. However, Hamaguchi revealed that Square Enix developed its own rendering system for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that was broadly comparable in purpose to Nanite. The team therefore did not need to migrate Revelation simply to gain access to that type of functionality. This does not mean the two systems are identical, nor does it make every feature of Unreal Engine 5 irrelevant. It demonstrates that experienced developers can create custom solutions for specific production needs. In this case, Square Enix had already built a bridge across a technical gap that might otherwise have encouraged an engine switch.

Rebirth provided a demanding test for the technology

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth gave Square Enix’s customized Unreal Engine 4 pipeline a far more demanding workload than Remake. Its world included large natural regions, dense towns, varied terrain, numerous characters, vehicles, creatures, cinematic sequences, and battles filled with particles and elaborate effects. The game also needed to move between exploration, dialogue, combat, and scripted moments without losing its visual identity. Delivering that variety required more than relying on the engine’s standard settings. It demanded careful asset management, rendering solutions, optimization, and a clear understanding of the target hardware. The lessons learned from Rebirth now feed directly into Revelation. Instead of beginning the finale with theoretical knowledge of how a new engine might behave, the team enters production with technology already tested in a released game of substantial scale. That history does not guarantee perfection, but it gives the developers a map marked with hazards, shortcuts, and places where the road could use a little reinforcement.

The final visual result matters more than the engine number

Hamaguchi’s central message is refreshingly direct: players should judge what appears on the screen rather than the technology named in promotional materials. Game engines are important, but they do not create visual quality in isolation. Art direction, lighting, animation, modeling, effects, camera work, performance targets, and developer expertise all shape the experience. A newer engine can provide useful tools, yet those tools still need to be understood and applied effectively. Likewise, an older foundation can produce remarkable work when it has been heavily customized by a skilled team. Revelation’s success will not be determined by whether an Unreal Engine 5 logo appears during startup. It will depend on whether its world feels alive, whether battles remain readable during their wildest moments, and whether its most important scenes carry the emotional force players expect. Engine discussions are fascinating, but no one reaches the climax of Final Fantasy 7 hoping to be moved by a version number.

Positive trailer reactions strengthened the team’s confidence

The footage shown during Summer Game Fest received a positive response, particularly regarding Revelation’s graphics. Hamaguchi described that reaction as reassuring because it suggested that the team’s confidence in its technology was visible in the finished presentation. Trailers cannot answer every technical question, of course. Carefully selected footage is different from playing a large RPG for dozens of hours across multiple platforms. Even so, a strong initial showing matters. It demonstrates that remaining with Unreal Engine 4 has not prevented Square Enix from presenting detailed characters, dramatic environments, rich effects, and the cinematic direction associated with the remake series. It also helps move the conversation away from what the engine is called and toward what the developers are creating with it. When viewers respond positively without needing to inspect the machinery behind every scene, the technology is doing its job. The best stage equipment supports the performance without demanding that the audience stare at the cables.

What the engine choice could mean for multiple platforms

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is planned for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with Square Enix targeting a simultaneous spring 2027 release. Supporting several hardware configurations introduces a wide range of technical challenges. Resolution, frame rate, memory limits, storage speeds, processor performance, and graphics capabilities can differ considerably between systems. An established engine pipeline may help the team approach those differences with tools it already understands. Rebirth’s development and subsequent expansion to additional platforms have provided useful experience in scaling assets and adjusting performance targets. Revelation will still require substantial platform-specific work, especially because one configuration cannot simply be copied everywhere. However, avoiding an engine migration removes another unpredictable variable from that process. Instead of learning how a new framework behaves on each system, the developers can concentrate on adapting known technology. Familiarity will not make optimization effortless, but it may keep the technical juggling act from adding another flaming sword.

Consistency may be Revelation’s greatest technical strength

Revelation must feel like the culmination of one connected project rather than a technologically detached sequel. Keeping the same underlying engine can support consistency in character models, animation behavior, combat responsiveness, visual effects, asset production, and cinematic presentation. The team can improve these elements without replacing the foundation that links all three games. That continuity is especially valuable for a finale expected to revisit earlier locations, resolve long-running storylines, and bring familiar characters together. Assets and systems created during Remake and Rebirth can potentially be refined and expanded instead of reconstructed from the ground up. Players should still expect technical and artistic improvements, but those changes can grow naturally from what came before. Think of it less as building a third house and more as completing the upper floor of an enormous structure. Replacing the foundations at that stage might sound ambitious, but strengthening the existing structure is usually the wiser route.

Square Enix is prioritizing delivery without sacrificing ambition

Hamaguchi’s explanation shows that the Unreal Engine 4 decision is closely tied to the project’s broader priorities. Square Enix wants to finish the remake trilogy at a high standard while avoiding development work that does not directly improve the experience delivered to players. Migrating to Unreal Engine 5 might offer advantages in certain areas, but those gains would need to outweigh the time required to rebuild tools, retrain workflows, convert assets, and solve unfamiliar problems. The director concluded that they would not. By remaining with its customized engine, the studio can direct more of its energy toward the finale’s world, combat, narrative, and platform support. That approach is not a rejection of modern technology. It is an example of choosing technology according to the needs of a specific production. Sometimes progress means adopting the newest system available. At other times, it means pushing familiar tools further because the people using them already know exactly where their hidden strengths lie.

Conclusion

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s continued use of Unreal Engine 4 reflects a practical decision built on years of experience. Square Enix already possesses a customized pipeline capable of supporting the remake trilogy’s characters, environments, battles, and cinematic presentation. Moving everything to Unreal Engine 5 would require the developers to rebuild major parts of that pipeline, potentially extending production without guaranteeing a proportionate improvement for players. The team has also created proprietary technology that addresses needs commonly associated with newer engine features, including a rendering system comparable in purpose to Nanite. Positive reactions to the Summer Game Fest footage suggest that the results can speak more loudly than the engine label. Revelation will ultimately be judged by how it plays, performs, and concludes Cloud’s journey. Hamaguchi’s team appears comfortable letting that final experience make the argument for them, and that confidence may prove more meaningful than any number printed beside the words Unreal Engine.

FAQs

The choice to remain with Unreal Engine 4 raises understandable questions about development, graphics, platform performance, and the technology behind the remake trilogy. The answers below explain the reasoning Square Enix has shared and what the decision may mean for the finished game.

  • Why is Final Fantasy 7 Revelation using Unreal Engine 4?
    • Square Enix has already developed a mature and heavily customized Unreal Engine 4 pipeline for Remake and Rebirth. Director Naoki Hamaguchi believes continuing with that familiar technology will help the team deliver Revelation more efficiently.
  • Why did Square Enix decide against moving to Unreal Engine 5?
    • Moving to Unreal Engine 5 would require significant rebuilding, testing, and changes to the team’s established workflow. Hamaguchi said that the additional development time would not make sense from either a business or player perspective.
  • Will Unreal Engine 4 limit Revelation’s graphics?
    • The engine version alone does not determine the finished visual quality. Square Enix has modified Unreal Engine 4 extensively and demonstrated confidence in the graphics shown in Revelation’s promotional footage.
  • Does Revelation have technology similar to Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite?
    • Hamaguchi said the team created its own rendering system for Rebirth that was broadly comparable to Nanite in purpose. This custom solution allows the developers to handle highly detailed geometry without migrating the entire project to Unreal Engine 5.
  • Which platforms will Final Fantasy 7 Revelation support?
    • Square Enix has announced Revelation for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game is scheduled to launch simultaneously across those platforms in spring 2027.
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