Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 Sticks With Unreal Engine 4 and the Director Says That Choice Will Make the Game Better
Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 will continue to use Unreal Engine 4, matching the technology foundation behind Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. For some players, that decision immediately sparked concerns that the trilogy finale could feel less forward looking than major releases built on Unreal Engine 5, especially with modern marketing conversations often equating a higher engine number with a generational leap in visuals and systems.
Director Naoki Hamaguchi addressed that reaction directly in an interview with Automaton, saying that much of the debate comes from people not being familiar with the practical differences between Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5. In his view, the engine decision is not a downgrade, and the team’s conclusion is the opposite of what some fans fear: continuing with Unreal Engine 4 is precisely what enables the studio to deliver a better third installment for customers.
Hamaguchi’s explanation is rooted in production reality and pipeline maturity. He describes Unreal Engine 5’s major differentiators as Lumen and Nanite, two features that represent a current trend in graphics pipelines, but also introduce scheduling and integration risk when a project’s timeline is tied to a rapidly evolving engine roadmap. The team began building its workflow around Unreal Engine 4 during earlier development, then carried that foundation through Rebirth with a graphics pipeline built in house, which also supports optimization and porting across multiple hardware targets in a more straightforward way. Instead of rebuilding that entire pipeline from scratch to switch engines, the team chose to keep compounding its existing strengths, using proven tools, known performance characteristics, and hard earned iteration speed to focus resources on content, polish, stability, and platform tuning.
This is a classic example of a studio prioritizing execution over optics, and it is a strategy that often produces stronger outcomes in the final stretch of a multi game saga. In gamer terms, it is the difference between chasing shiny new tech and maximizing frame time, asset streaming, and gameplay feel with a pipeline your team already knows how to push to its limits. If Rebirth is the template, the expectation is not that Part 3 will stand still, but that it will evolve within the same foundation, using the team’s accumulated experience to scale visuals, systems, and pacing without the drag of a major engine migration.
From a broader industry perspective, this also positions Part 3 to benefit from more predictable optimization and porting work, which matters when the commercial plan spans multiple platforms. Engine choice is not just about lighting and triangles, it is about reducing unknowns so the studio can hit quality targets and ship with confidence. Hamaguchi’s message is clear: the tech stack is a means to an end, and the end goal is a stronger, more refined finale.
Do you prefer studios to stick with a proven engine for consistency and polish, or do you want a full Unreal Engine 5 jump even if it risks schedule and optimization turbulence?
