Square starts work on the seventh Final Fantasy. The project is initially planned for the Super Nintendo, then shifts to the Nintendo 64 before finding its true home on Sony's PlayStation, a defection that would reshape the console wars of the 1990s.
Final Fantasy VII is formally announced for the PlayStation at V-Jump Festival '96 in Japan, ending years of speculation about Square's next direction. The first public footage shows a pre-rendered Midgar and a sword-wielding figure in blue.
Square shows a playable slice of FF7 at SIGGRAPH '96, giving Western press their first hands-on look at the game's 3D battle system and cinematic camera work.
A FF7 demo ships bundled with Tobal No. 1 in Japan, the first time the public gets hands on the opening Mako Reactor sequence. The demo becomes a collector's item almost overnight.
Final Fantasy VII launches in Japan on PlayStation across three discs. It sells over two million copies in three days, cementing Square's decision to leave Nintendo and setting the stage for JRPGs going global.
FF7 arrives in North America, backed by Sony's now-legendary "Someday you will…" marketing campaign. For many Western players, this is their first Final Fantasy, and the genre-defining moment that makes JRPGs mainstream outside Japan.
FF7 reaches Europe, becoming the first mainline Final Fantasy ever released in PAL territories. It's met with ecstatic reviews and sells out across the continent.
Eidos publishes the Windows port of FF7 in North America, introducing new chocobo cutscenes and higher-resolution backgrounds, immortalizing the game on the platform for decades of mods to come.
Square Enix announces an ambitious multimedia expansion of the FF7 universe: a mobile prequel, a feature film sequel, a PS2 action game, and a PSP prequel. Collectively they will be known as the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
The first Compilation title launches exclusively on Japanese mobile phones. Players join the Turks in a prequel set six years before FF7. It would never see a Western release.
The CG feature film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children premieres in Japan, set two years after the original game. It's a love letter to fans and a showcase for Square Enix's film division, bringing Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth roaring back into pop culture.
Vincent Valentine headlines his own third-person shooter on PS2. Released in Japan first, it reaches North America in August and Europe in November. Divisive at launch, it remains the boldest genre experiment in the Compilation.
Zack Fair takes center stage on PSP in an action-RPG prequel that recontextualizes the entire FF7 story. It becomes one of the handheld's best-selling titles and a generational favorite.
Crisis Core launches in North America and Europe to rave reviews. Its ending, a single line delivered to Cloud, becomes one of the most-quoted moments in the series.
An expanded, Blu-ray-exclusive cut of Advent Children launches in Japan with 26 minutes of new footage, enhanced effects, and extra fight choreography. It is widely regarded as the definitive version of the film.
The original game returns to PC via Steam with cloud saves, achievements, and a "character booster" system. It introduces a whole new generation to Midgar and kicks off a decade of community modding.
FF7 arrives on PS4 with trophies, 3× speed mode, and a battle-assist toggle. It's the first time the original has been officially playable on a PlayStation console since the PSP.
Final Fantasy VII arrives on Nintendo and Microsoft platforms for the first time ever, completing its journey to every major modern console.
During Sony's E3 2015 press conference, Tetsuya Nomura appears to announce that Final Fantasy VII is being remade. The internet breaks. Fans weep. A running joke stretching back over a decade finally becomes real.
At PlayStation Experience, Square Enix shows the first proper gameplay footage: a reimagined action-RPG battle system and a breathtaking rebuild of the opening Mako Reactor mission.
After years of silence, and a development restructure that brought the project in-house, Remake re-emerges with a release date, extended combat footage, and confirmation that it will be the first part of a multi-entry retelling.
Final Fantasy VII Remake launches worldwide on PlayStation 4. Reviews praise the combat, the character writing, and the audacious third-act reinterpretation, a choice that would define the trilogy's direction.
FF7 Remake Intergrade arrives on PS5 with 4K visuals, faster loads, photo mode, and, crucially, INTERmission: a new episode starring Yuffie Kisaragi that sets up major plot threads for Rebirth.
A mobile battle royale set thirty years before FF7 launches worldwide. It introduces new lore about the SOLDIER program before shutting down just over a year later, in January 2023.
Intergrade arrives on PC via the Epic Games Store, the first time Remake has been playable outside of PlayStation.
Square Enix celebrates FF7's 25th birthday with an avalanche of announcements: Rebirth is revealed as the second part of the trilogy, Crisis Core Reunion remasters the PSP classic, and mobile gacha-RPG Ever Crisis is unveiled to retell the entire saga.
Zack's story returns fully remastered, re-voiced, and rebuilt in the Remake art style, across PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, and PC. It's the first time Crisis Core is available outside of PSP.
The ambitious mobile title launches worldwide, collapsing the entire Compilation timeline (original game, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus) into a single episodic retelling with Remake-style visuals.
The middle chapter of the trilogy launches on PlayStation 5. Reviewers call it one of the most content-rich JRPGs ever made: an open-world retelling of Cloud and friends' journey beyond Midgar, culminating at the Forgotten Capital.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arrives on PC, bringing the open-world chapter to a whole new audience while fans await the third and final entry in the trilogy.
The final chapter of the FF7 Remake trilogy is in active development at Square Enix, promised to bring Cloud's reimagined story to its conclusion. The journey that began in 1994 will, eventually, find its ending.