Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth kicks off video game industry's hype season
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Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. Screenshot: Square Enix
A summer of game industry hype season kicked off in Los Angeles today with a two-hour demonstration of new games that culminated with the first full trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.
Why it matters: In lieu of the once-annual E3 show at the Los Angeles Convention Center, game publishers are participating in or hosting a batch of smaller events to reveal and promote many of the biggest games slated for the next year.
Between the lines: Today’s event, a kickoff show called Summer Game Fest, was held at the YouTube Theater, a venue that can seat about 6,000 people and was mostly full on its lower level (no balcony seats opened).
- Attendees were a mix of industry professionals, media and members of the public (ticket prices started at $50, but fell to about $10 today).
- It’s unusual for shows of this type to let the public in, and attendees Axios spoke to outside the theater were enthusiastic but unsure of what to expect.
The biggest reveal was a trailer and gameplay footage of Square Enix's ongoing remake project around Final Fantasy VII.
- The iconic 1997 PlayStation release, one of the medium’s most popular games, saw the first section of the game expanded and radically reinvented in 2020’s Final Fantasy VII: Remake.
- Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, shown today, will remake and reinterpret the middle part of the game, with a third remake to follow.
- The trailer ended with the promise of an early 2024 release on PlayStation 5, and a note that it’ll be on two discs.
Other notable announcements:
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: A side scrolling revival of Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia franchise, slated for January.
- Sonic Superstars, a new 2D Sonic game slated for the fall.
- John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, a zombie shooter from Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment.
- An Oct. 20 release date for PlayStation’s biggest release of the year, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
What’s next: The Day of the Devs indie showcase commenced after the Summer Game Fest show.
- Microsoft, Ubisoft and Capcom will hold their own events in the coming days (see item 5).
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