Square Enix Needs Kingdom Hearts 4 and a FFXIII Remaster in 2025

20 hours ago 29

Square Enix first formed as the merger between the Japanese game development giants of Squaresoft and Enix in 2003. Since then, Square Enix has had some notably excellent titles pretty much every single year. However, 2025 looks to be one of the lightest years in the company’s history. As such, Square Enix needs Kingdom Hearts 4 and a Final Fantasy XIII remaster in 2025.

Let’s take a look at Square Enix’s set of releases in 2025. As of writing now at the time of writing after The Game Awards 2024 announcements, there are only two releases players can look forward to from this company in 2025. Those two announcements are just Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for PC and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.

The former is simply a port of an existing game, while the latter is likely to be a wonderful remake. However, those are the only releases. As of right now, this appears to be the lightest year in Square Enix’s history since 2003 if nothing else is announced. Of course, I do expect more announcements down the line.

To this point, I think there are a couple of key realistic releases that would make 2025 better for the company than it could be. For instance, I don’t necessarily see Dragon Quest XII coming out next year, especially with the silence surrounding it. But what I could see happen, though it seems unlikely, is the release of Kingdom Hearts 4.

It was first announced back in April 2022, with initial development spanning back to at least 2020 at the latest. For reference, Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced in 2013 and came out six years later. That timeline sounds pretty dismal for hopes of this next entry in 2025, but I do think Square Enix is getting better about announcement timings.

Take a look at Final Fantasy VII Remake, which was announced in 2015, five years before its release. Its sequel, however, had its announcement in 2022 and came out less than two years later. There is a slim chance for Kingdom Hearts 4 in 2025, and it would be enough to save the year for Square Enix.

However, I acknowledge that possibility is unlikely at this point. Instead, there are a couple of other options worth mentioning that could save Square Enix in 2025. For instance, a full remaster of the entire Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. This trilogy are pretty much the only mainline singleplayer Final Fantasy games not available on modern platforms in some fashion. Well, other than backwards compatibility on Xbox, but that barely counts.

With the release of the inevitable Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025, a FFXIII trilogy remaster sounds like a great early launch title as well. These games have their fair share of problems, but they deserve another look. I still think the visuals look almost comparable to games today, while the story is fantastic. I also don’t love the linear nature of the original, but the second title helped with that.

Not to mention, this is a highly realistic option as well. Beyond FFXIII, there are a few final options worth mentioning. A new NieR game feels inevitable and 2025 would be the best year to put it out for Square Enix. I already delved into why I think this is imminent, but it would be a monumental release nonetheless.

There are also some smaller titles I’d like to see in 2025. We could see the next Bravely Default, which I expect on the Switch 2. There is also potential for a new HD-2D remake of another Square classic like Chrono Trigger or Xenogears. I could even see a Triangle Strategy 2 or successor.

Regardless, Square Enix currently has a near blank slate in 2025. I don’t expect this to stay this way for too much longer. Otherwise, 2025 could be one of the worst years in the company’s history, in terms of overall releases, if not the overall weakest. Square Enix needs major titles in 2025 like Kingdom Hearts 4 or a FFXIII remaster to keep fans engaged.

Kingdom Hearts 4 is scheduled to release in the relatively near future for an unconfirmed set of platforms.

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