The success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is pushing Square Enix to think harder about where Final Fantasy VII should go next. Naoki Hamaguchi says the future is not a clean return to classic turn-based battles, but a hybrid model that mixes strategy with real-time action – which is probably where the genre has been drifting for a while anyway.
Hamaguchi pointed to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as his own example of that compromise: real-time combat, ATB commands, and tactical pauses all living in the same system. That kind of setup is becoming harder to dismiss, especially after a game like Clair Obscur proved there is still a large audience for turn-based structure as long as it is dressed with modern timing and player input.
Clair Obscur made the genre argument louder
According to the source material, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sold more than 8 million copies and won five major Game of the Year awards. That matters because it gives publishers something they love more than opinions: proof. When a turn-based game can post those numbers, ”slow combat” stops sounding like a limitation and starts looking like a design choice.
Square Enix has already been moving in this direction for years. Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy XVI leaned further into action RPG territory, and some fans read that as a quiet goodbye to the older, more methodical style. Rebirth sits in the middle, and that middle ground may end up looking less like indecision and more like the business-friendly answer to a split audience.
What Square Enix seems to be testing
- Pure turn-based combat still has an audience.
- Action-only systems are easier to market to a wider group of players.
- Hybrid combat lets Square Enix keep tactical depth without giving up spectacle.
The smart bet is that Final Fantasy will keep borrowing from both sides instead of picking a single camp. The open question is how far Square Enix can push that blend before it stops feeling like Final Fantasy and starts looking like every other big-budget RPG trying to do a bit of everything.