Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Is Sticking With Unreal Engine 4 Instead of UE5

Square Enix chose speed, experience, and stability over a full engine upgrade as it works to finish the long-running remake trilogy.

Sometimes, the smartest move in game development isn’t chasing the newest technology—it’s sticking with what already works. That’s the thinking behind Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the final chapter in Square Enix’s ambitious remake trilogy.

While many fans expected the game to make the jump to Unreal Engine 5, the development team has revealed that it deliberately chose to remain on Unreal Engine 4. Director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that the decision came down to one simple goal: finishing the game without adding years of extra development time.

The team has spent years building, customizing, and refining Unreal Engine 4 throughout the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project. By the time work began on Revelation, the developers already had a workflow they understood inside and out.

Switching to Unreal Engine 5 would have meant learning new systems, rebuilding tools, and potentially slowing production at a time when the studio wanted to keep moving forward. For many players, newer technology often sounds like an automatic upgrade. Bigger number, better game—right? Not necessarily. 

Hamaguchi noted that the team looked at the decision from both a player and business perspective.

Rather than investing time in a major engine transition, the developers felt it was more important to focus on delivering the game sooner while maintaining the quality fans expect. The choice was reportedly made early in development, allowing the team to avoid getting distracted by the latest engine features.

While Unreal Engine 5 has become known for technologies such as Nanite and advanced lighting systems, the developers believe they already have many of the tools they need. Hamaguchi said the team created its own rendering technology during development of previous games in the trilogy that achieves results comparable to some of Unreal Engine 5’s headline features. 

Because the studio has extensive experience modifying Unreal Engine 4, it can continue improving the engine to fit its needs rather than starting from scratch. And so far, that confidence appears justified. Recent footage shown at Summer Game Fest received a positive response from fans, with many praising the game’s visual quality.

For the developers, it was a sign that players care more about the final result on screen than the specific technology running behind it. The decision also represents a realistic fact of modern game creation.

Making big AAA games is now more expensive and takes longer than it ever has before. With the tools at hand still able to produce great outcomes, studios are starting to question if the added effort and risk of new technology is worth it.

For Square Enix, there is another reason to keep things moving. The Final Fantasy 7 remake project has been a massive undertaking since it was first unveiled in 2015. By the time Revelation launches in spring 2027, the trilogy will have stretched across more than a decade.

That’s a long journey for both developers and fans.

With the finish line finally in sight, the studio appears focused on wrapping up Cloud’s story rather than reinventing its development process. The strategy is straightforward: use the technology the team knows best, polish it as much as possible, and deliver the conclusion players have been waiting years to experience.

As we approach the last chapter, one question remains: Will the choice to go with Unreal Engine 4 be the one that allows last Fantasy 7 Revelation to complete the trilogy on its strongest note when it arrives in 2027?