More news on the Final Fantasy 7 remake front, this time on the technology behind the remake: Square Enix will be powering the game using Unreal Engine 4, rather than their own Luminous engine.
“We realize how special Final Fantasy VII is to fans, and we place our trust in Unreal Engine 4 technology and tools to help deliver this long-awaited remake, crafted for modern platforms,” Final Fantasy 7 remake producer Yoshinori Kitase said in a statement.
Unreal Engine is a trusted and versatile engine that has powered games like XCOM, Thief, Mortal Kombat X, the Mass Effect series, Gears of War and the Batman: Arkham series. Upcoming games that will use Unreal Engine 4 include Kingdom Hearts 3, Psychonauts 2 and Tekken 7 . Square Enix has also tapped Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and .hack developers CyberConnect2 to aid development.
Taka Kawasaki of Epic Games Japan made a statement on Square Enix’s choice of engine for the Final Fantasy 7 remake, stating, “We’re humbled that Square Enix has chosen Unreal Engine 4 to recreate one of the world’s most beloved video games of all time. It is a joy to work with the talented developers behind the franchise, and this marks an unforgettable moment in Unreal Engine history."
The Final Fantasy 7 remake will be utilizing the Enlighten lighting technology of Geomerics "as the indirect lighting solution of choice." In the company's announcement, the Geomerics team stated that they "will continue to work closely with Square Enix throughout development to ensure the final lighting quality exceeds expectations." You can see a tech demo using the Enlighten dynamic lighting technology below:
As for the in-house custom engine Square Enix has chosen not to use? Here’s Square Enix’s Luminous engine, the in-house proprietary engine upon which Final Fantasy XV is being built:
Here’s to hoping that not having to customize the Luminous Engine for the Final Fantasy 7 remake leads to sharply lessened development time. The team’s choice of engine may reflect their sense of urgency, which Kitase cited as a reason why Square Enix will be releasing the Final Fantasy 7 remake in multiple parts . It could also reflect Square Enix’s urgency to get Final Fantasy XV out the door and leave all Luminous hands on deck where they are, rather than split the attention of their Luminous experts between not one, but two highly-anticipated Final Fantasy projects.
Finally, here’s the new trailer for the Final Fantasy 7 remake, which debuted at the Playstation Experience keynote on Dec. 5:
