Final Fantasy VII is getting a prequel that’s also a mobile battle royale

The enhanced version of Final Fantasy VII Remake for the PS5 wasn’t the only Midgar-related news today. Square Enix also revealed an even bigger surprise: a battle royale for mobile devices that’s set three decades before the original game. It’s called Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, and it’s slated to come to both Android and iOS devices later this year.

We don’t know much more about the game just yet, but, as the title implies, it’s centered on Soldier, a group of enhanced fighters that plays an important role in FFVII’s story. A multiplayer battle royale seems like a strange way to tell a story like that, but the trailer at least shows some iconic FFVII locales and what looks like fast-paced combat involving both weapons and magic.

In an interview with with Weekly Famitsu, Final Fantasy VII series director Tetsuya Nomura suggests there won’t be a lot of storytelling, but that you’ll be able to play solo or in three-person teams, and it’ll be adding a “leveling up from defeating monsters” RPG mechanic to the battle royale formula.

A second mobile spinoff, a story-driven game called Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, was also announced. It’s due to come to iOS and Android in 2022.

Update, 8:55PM ET: Added some additional details from the Famitsu interview.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22301945/final-fantasy-7-soldier-prequel-battle-royale-android-iphone