Through the information-rich gold mine that is the Ultimania book, FF7 Remake 3 still gives us exciting secrets. One of them is interested in gameplay in the very broad sense.
Teruki Endo, combat director for FF7 Remake 3, makes particular mention of exploration. While FF7 Rebirth opened the doors to the open world wide, its sequel could hit even harder on this vast terrain.
An FF7 Remake 3 à la Breath of the Wild?
Between the first and second opuses of the FF7 Remake, we had already been treated to a great evolution in terms of exploration. We have indeed gone from the narrow corridors of Midgar to an open world divided into several zones. With FF7 Remake 3, Square Enix could apparently go even further. Teruki Endo indeed mentions in the book Ultimania that freedom could truly become the key word of exploration for the future.
In Rebirth, it is indeed still a question of following a sort of marked path from one open area to another. The combat director suggests that, in FF7 Remake 3, this element of linearity could be completely discarded. According to him, it would be much more enjoyable to give players the freedom to chart their own route. The different key points of the story could thus be discovered without any precise order. A little air of Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom in sight?
The high winds of freedom for Cloud and his friends
This could join other testimonials from FF7 Remake 3 developers already heard before. Shortly after the release of Rebirth, they were already working on the sequel and grand finale to this trilogy. They already imagined having to rethink the open world by taking into account the Highwind, the last unlockable vehicle in the game. Since it is a flying device, the map present in Rebirth might not be adapted to such a means of transport.
So, the idea of offering full free exploration of the open world of FF7 Remake 3 could make sense. If all goes well, we might check this out sooner rather than later. Since the developer team has changed little between Rebirth and its sequel, it could be released in 2027 on PS5.