FF7 Remake Part 3 is being built for high‑end PCs first — consoles get scaled down

Square Enix is doing something blunt and sensible: for Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 the team builds the game to run on high‑end PCs first, then pares assets down for consoles. Director Naoki Hamaguchi framed it as a deliberate pipeline choice in a recent Automaton interview – make the best visuals possible, avoid designing for the lowest common denominator, then optimize down. That approach changes the conversation from “which platform loses” to “how much work the cuts require.”

• Key takeaway: The lead platform is PC – assets are created at maximum fidelity and then “reduced” for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2.
• Why they chose this: Hamaguchi says targeting top hardware avoids visual compromises early and makes per‑platform scaling/tuning easier later.
• Reality check: “No compromise” claims are PR‑friendly; runtime performance, framerates and memory budgets will still force platform‑specific tradeoffs.
• Technical note: The team is using a customized Unreal Engine 4 build, not UE5 – a practical choice given control and predictability across consoles.

This isn’t vanity — it’s a defensive move against lowest‑spec thinking

Making the highest‑quality assets first is not a vanity exercise. Hamaguchi described a “reduction” workflow: textures, models and particle systems are authored at a high bar, then scaled and tuned down per platform. That lets artists push shading, geometry and lighting without early constraints. If you want the best-looking version on PC and a faithful scaled version on consoles, you start high and carve back — not the other way around.

Don’t let “no compromises” be the PR soundbite you swallow whole

Hamaguchi insists the PC‑first pipeline “avoids compromising visual expression” and that platform tweaks — like higher NPC density on CPU‑strong hardware — will prevent bottlenecks on weaker machines. Fair. But “not lowering quality” and “not lowering fidelity” are different claims. You can keep art fidelity while still falling back on lower resolutions, lower internal render targets, fewer particles, or uncapped frame targets on weaker devices. The developer can preserve texture quality but still cut runtime performance to hit a console’s memory and thermal limits.

The uncomfortable observation the PR probably hoped you’d miss: building to top specs makes it easier to sell the visual story, but it also makes platform differences more visible. A high‑end PC build that gets aggressively reduced for Series S or Switch 2 will still look and feel different in motion.

UE4, not UE5 — a deliberate pick in a messy era for modern engines

One small but telling detail: Part 3 uses a customized Unreal Engine 4 rather than UE5. That speaks to the team’s priorities — control, predictability and known performance characteristics. It’s also sensible given recent debates about UE5 features like Lumen and Nanite and how they can blow out render costs on consoles (see Digital Foundry’s UE5 conversations). Choosing a mature, well‑understood pipeline reduces unknowns when you’re trying to scale a single high‑end build down to four very different platforms.

What this means commercially and for players

From a business angle, PC‑first is a nod to where premium buys and high‑margin sales increasingly live. It also makes multi‑platform marketing cleaner: the “definitive” visuals exist and hardware owners can see clear differences. Hamaguchi even framed PS5 Pro as “mid‑range” relative to top PCs and described Switch 2 as having “ample memory” — language that tries to reassure console owners while telegraphing where the visual ceiling is.

If you want a blunt takeaway: don’t expect parity. Expect better visuals on PC and PS5-class hardware, competent — possibly impressive — scaling on Switch 2 and Series X, and measurable compromises on lower‑spec targets. That’s how a PC‑first pipeline usually shakes out in practice.

What I’d ask the PR rep

If I were sitting across from Square Enix, I’d ask: which runtime targets (internal resolution, particle budgets, NPC counts) are flagged as mandatory reductions for Series S and Switch 2 to hit 60fps, and will there be quality presets and side‑by‑side comparisons published before launch? Those specifics tell you whether “reduction” is mostly aesthetic or fundamentally gameplay‑affecting.

What to watch next

• Square Enix dev streams and any TGS 2026 showings — look for PC vs console side‑by‑side footage and preset breakdowns.
• Digital Foundry or similar benchmarks focused on UE4 Part 3 builds; pay attention to internal resolutions and dynamic scaling behavior.
• Official PC system requirements and graphics presets — early disclosure is the clearest signal of how premium the PC version will be.
• Release window updates: the “playable” status Hamaguchi mentioned suggests a 2026-27 window; any slip or freeze will tell us how hard the scaling work is going.

TL;DR — Square Enix is designing Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 around high‑end PC hardware, then scaling down. That should deliver a visually ambitious baseline and make optimization more straightforward, but expect clear platform divergence in performance and motion. The promise of “no compromise” is useful marketing; the real proof will be side‑by‑side footage, system requirements and technical benchmarks.