Square Enix Shifts Focus: Final Fantasy Director Calls PC the 'Lead Platform', PS5 Pro 'Mid-Range'

Square Enix is fundamentally rethinking its platform strategy for the Final Fantasy franchise, with trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi explicitly naming PC as the studio's "lead platform" while relegating PlayStation 5 hardware—including the upcoming PS5 Pro—to "mid-range" status. This strategic pivot, revealed in an Automaton interview, carries significant implications for visual fidelity, development priorities, and platform exclusivity across the gaming landscape.

What's Changed: From Console Exclusivity to PC Primacy

Historically, Final Fantasy games launched as PlayStation exclusives before receiving PC ports months or years later. The original Final Fantasy 7 Remake debuted exclusively on PS4 in 2020, with the PS5/PC Intergrade version arriving in 2021. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth notably shortened this exclusivity window before hitting PC marketplaces. Now, Hamaguchi confirms this trend culminates with the trilogy's final installment: Part 3 is expected to launch simultaneously across all platforms, eliminating PlayStation exclusivity entirely.

Technical Comparison: PC's Hardware Dominance Over Consoles

Hamaguchi's platform classification stems from stark hardware disparities. He explains that PCs represent the "highest-end gaming environment," allowing developers to create assets targeting powerful CPUs like Intel's Core i9-14900K and GPUs such as NVIDIA's RTX 4090. This results in noticeably superior texture resolution, polygon counts, and visual effects compared to consoles. Even PlayStation's enhanced PS5 Pro—despite its PSSR upscaling—remains constrained by its fixed AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 3-based GPU architecture. Consequently, Rebirth launched with visibly better image quality and performance on PC, a deliberate outcome according to Hamaguchi: "We created assets for the most powerful CPUs and GPUs first."

Platform	CPU Equivalent	GPU Equivalent	Asset Target	Classification
PC	Intel Core i9 / AMD Ryzen 9	NVIDIA RTX 4090 / AMD RX 7900	Highest textures & polygons	Lead Platform
PS5 Pro	AMD Zen 2 (Enhanced)	Custom RDNA 3 (33.5 TFLOPs)	Reduced textures & polygons	Mid-Range
Switch 2	Undisclosed (ARM-based)	Undisclosed (Likely Ampere)	Severely scaled down	Entry-Level

Market Realities Driving the Shift

Beyond technical advantages, Hamaguchi cites commercial factors. Final Fantasy titles now generate substantial revenue through Steam and the Epic Games Store, benefiting from PC gaming's vast install base. This sales momentum makes prioritizing PC development "logical" despite PlayStation's historical revenue dominance. The studio maintains that developing scaled-down versions for Switch 2 or Steam Deck won't compromise the PC version's quality, as assets are created top-down from high-end specs.

Who Benefits—And Who Might Feel Shortchanged

This strategy clearly prioritizes PC gamers, who gain day-one access to the definitive visual experience. However, PlayStation loyalists—especially PS5 Pro owners expecting a premium showcase—may perceive the "mid-range" label as dismissive. Hamaguchi reassures that dedicated teams optimize each port, aiming to avoid Rebirth's PS5 performance issues like frame rate drops. Still, the messaging signals that console versions will remain visually compromised compared to high-end PC builds.

The Future: A New Standard for Multiplatform Development

Square Enix's approach reflects broader industry trends toward scalable game engines and simultaneous multiplatform releases. By establishing PC as the technical benchmark early in development, studios can efficiently adapt assets downward for consoles rather than scaling up from console limitations. For Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, this means PlayStation players receive a competent adaptation rather than the optimal experience—a trade-off Hamaguchi deems necessary to capture PC's lucrative market while accommodating lower-spec hardware.