Final Fantasy 9 is easily the Final Fantasy game that gets the most requests to be remade outside FF7 and perhaps FF8. Fans have wanted it to get the same treatment that Cloud and co. received back in 2020, and, for a time, it felt as if that were possible. Square Enix is not shy of remaking or remastering its library of incredible JRPGs, so it felt like a no-brainer that the studio would eventually get around to remaking at least some of its Final Fantasy games, most important being FF9.
Sadly, it seems as if Final Fantasy 9's official return, which fans had believed would arrive any day, may have been placed on temporary hiatus, if not a permanent one. It is somber news, one that pushes the project further and further away from reality. Fans have seemingly cottoned on to this and begun rallying around one another, reacting to the remake's existence, or lack thereof, and simply trying to piece it all together while supporting one another.
For context, it very much seemed, at one point, that a Final Fantasy 9 remake was in the works. Back in 2021, a disastrous NVIDIA leak revealed a handful of in-production projects, chief among them being FF9. Several of the projects revealed in the leaked documents ended up being real, so many assumed the same would be true for this Final Fantasy 9 remake. It wouldn't be all that surprising to see a brand-new FF9 project, especially as Square Enix has a penchant for revisiting old IPs.
However, recently, reliable insider NatetheHate has said that he believes the FF9 remake to be on ice, at least according to his sources, and that we shouldn't expect to see it soon. It could be that the perceived failure of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth affected the chances of Square Enix investing so heavily in another remake of an older title, or it could merely be that the studio lost interest or faith in the project. Regardless, it very much appears that a FF9 remake isn't happening any time soon, and a recent Reddit post seems to confirm as much.
Fans of FF9 and those simply excited about a potential remake have all been lamenting the loss of this alleged project, with User Nightwing24yuna (and many others) believing that "it would have really benefited from a remake" the most. The atmosphere is frankly a little dour among these fans, with user GargantaProfunda confessing that they had already "given up hope," while Redditor ShyguyFlyguy simply stated, "it's not happening."
Of course, some users questioned the validity of the initial rumors, while others hoped that it might happen eventually, with user Remote_Elevator_281 joking, "maybe 30 years from now we get the remake lol." However, it does feel like it won't ever happen, especially as even its core fans who would want to see a project like this come to life feel dejected and hopeless. There's still a chance we'll see a Final Fantasy 9 remake eventually, but, for now, fans should perhaps stop holding out hope and instead rally together to support one another and mourn what could have been.
