Final Fantasy 7 Remake Director Says Gamers Are Facing Open-World Fatigue

The director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth discusses his belief that gamers today are experiencing open-world fatigue.

Open-world games have been trendy for quite some time; even longtime franchises like Zelda and Final Fantasy have taken the plunge into the open-world formula. In the latter’s case, even classic titles like Final Fantasy 7 have been recreated to be much deeper than the original 1997 title could ever have dreamed of being.

Naoki Hamaguchi Discusses Open-World Fatigue in Modern Games

During a recent interview with Eurogamer, Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, admitted that players may be burned out on the open-world concept. Still, he believes in giving players as much freedom as possible.

“There are a lot of open world games out in the world right now, and [the idea of ‘open world fatigue’] is a very important concept to me,” he said when speaking about the feedback he received for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. “It depends on personal preference and different perceptions, but for me personally, I know I’ve had the experience where I’ve been thrown out into an open world game and not known where to go, not known where to begin, and not known what to do. But at the same time, the concept of being thrown into this wondrous world where anything goes is amazing.”

This is expected to be the final game in the Final Fantasy 7 remake line, and Hamaguchi is excited to move on to a new franchise. While he’s open to remaking other titles in the Final Fantasy series, he’s ready for a brand-new experience overall.

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For more, check out Final Fantasy Resonance, an HD-2D experience due to release in October. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.