"Under consideration." Two words that have the Final Fantasy XV fanbase quietly losing their minds right now.
Square Enix has confirmed it is actively thinking about a remake or port of Final Fantasy XV for Nintendo Switch or Switch 2. The statement came in response to a shareholder question, which is arguably the most direct answer the publisher has given about the game's future on any platform since the original launched back in 2016. If you've been following Square Enix's recent push to get its biggest JRPG games onto Nintendo hardware, this shouldn't come as a complete surprise, but it's still a meaningful signal.
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From pocket edition to a full return
Here's the thing: Final Fantasy XV has technically been on Nintendo hardware before. The Pocket Edition, a heavily simplified and visually stripped-down version of the game, arrived on Switch back in 2018. It was a demake in every practical sense, a way to experience the story without the full visual fidelity or combat depth of the original. That's a very different proposition from what's being discussed now.
A full port or remake would be a different beast entirely. Final Fantasy XV is a technically demanding open-world game. The base game pushed PS4 and Xbox One hardware hard at launch, and even on PC it required a serious rig to run well. Getting that onto Switch 2 hardware without gutting the experience is a real engineering challenge, which is likely why Square Enix is hedging with "under consideration" rather than announcing a release date.
The Switch 2's improved specs compared to the original Switch make the conversation more realistic than it would have been three years ago. Square Enix has already demonstrated willingness to bring demanding titles to Nintendo's new hardware, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth making the jump to Switch 2 as a high-profile example of what's possible when the publisher commits to a port.
What fans actually want, and where they disagree
The community response to this news has been split in a genuinely interesting way. Some players are enthusiastic about a second chance at Final Fantasy XV, a game that launched in an unfinished state and spent years receiving patches, DLC, and a Royal Edition update to address its original shortcomings. A Switch 2 version built on that complete package would be the best version of the game most players never got to experience properly.
Others are pushing back, arguing Square Enix's remake and remaster resources would be better spent on Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy IX, both of which have more vocal fanbases demanding modern treatments. The shareholder meeting response has reignited that debate, and it's not a quiet one.
The split reaction also reflects how divisive Final Fantasy XV remains nearly a decade on. Its open-world road trip premise, real-time combat, and emotionally heavy story landed differently for different players. A port won't resolve those debates, but it would put the game in front of a much larger audience on Nintendo hardware.
The Switch 2 factor changes the math
Square Enix's momentum on Switch 2 is real. The publisher has been more aggressive about Nintendo ports than at almost any point in its history, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's arrival on the platform proved the company is willing to tackle technically complex projects for Nintendo's audience. If you want a sense of what that process looks like in practice, the FF7 Rebirth Switch 2 graphics vs performance breakdown covers exactly how that port handles the trade-offs between visual quality and frame rate.
Final Fantasy XV would face similar decisions. The game's open world, dynamic weather, and large-scale monster encounters all put pressure on hardware. The question isn't whether it can run on Switch 2, it's whether the compromises required would produce something worth playing.
Square Enix has shown it can answer that question well. Whether it chooses to do so for Final Fantasy XV specifically depends on internal priorities and, presumably, how the shareholder conversation continues to develop. The fact that the question was asked at all, and that the answer wasn't a flat no, tells you something about where the publisher's head is at.
Watch for any follow-up announcements out of Square Enix's next major showcase. If this moves from "under consideration" to an actual project, that's where the news will break first.
