It’s 2021 and E3 is finally back. It’s been tough for years for the iconic gaming show between the show leaking out personal information of attendees, combating COVID-19 in 2020, and publishers starting to pull out and do their own thing. Still, in spite of all that, E3 2021 is trucking along and aiming to continue to be a major event for video game news. With most of the big publishers attending, including Square Enix, E3 2021 looks to be in decent shape as we stand today. So there’s no reason not to keep the tradition going here and dive into some predictions for Square Enix’s E3 2021 conference.
There’s a lot of directions Square Enix could go this year. They have a lot of burners going on their stove. Will they just show us everything they are working on such as Final Fantasy XVI, Forspoken, Project Triangle Strategy, and even Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2? Or will they keep it relatively conservative; just show us some new gameplay footage of Final Fantasy XVI, a new Endwalker trailer, a random mobile game, and then call it a show?
Let’s dive into some possibilities.
Naoki Yoshida Shows Up With Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
Final Fantasy XIV is gearing up for another major update this November with the Endwalker expansion. This expansion will conclude the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga of Final Fantasy XIV which has persisted since the game’s original launch and will put the game on a new story track for the first time. You also get to go to the moon! It’s exciting stuff!
Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida is an extremely popular and personable figure, so it’s very likely that he’ll have the Square Enix stage to himself to allow him to talk about whatever he wants related to Endwalker and Final Fantasy XIV.
Expect a new or extended trailer, and perhaps a look of some of the new jobs, areas, or job updates in action.
New Final Fantasy XVI Footage
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
Speaking of Naoki Yoshida… he’s also the producer of Final Fantasy XVI and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him team up with director Hiroshi Takai at E3 to finally give us some extended footage of the next single-player Final Fantasy adventure.
We don’t know a ton about Final Fantasy XVI as of this moment. We know that it’s set in a more traditional “medieval” setting and that it will be an action-RPG. There will be a heavy focus on Eikons, and the role they play in creating a balance of power between factions in the in-game world of Valisthea. You play as Clive who is a solder that fiercely defends and protects his mysterious brother Joshua who appears to be a dominant — a person that has a connection with the Eikons.
Final Fantasy XVI isn’t top secret anymore so it would be incredibly odd for E3 to come and go and have the game not appear in any capacity. I’d be willing to wager that it’s further along than we think and that a 2022 release date wouldn’t be out of the question, although I would be surprised if a release date was announced, although that’s not entirely impossible either.
A Visit to the West
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
Definitely expect a nice chunk of time being spent on checking in with what Square Enix’s western-based subsidiaries are up to.
We already know that Eidos Montreal is going to be showing off something new during E3 2021. While they took some time off from the Tomb Raider series to work on Marvel’s Avengers, I will wager that they may have something new to show in that franchise. Given their history, though, Deus Ex is certainly possible as well.
We’ll also definitely see content from Babylon’s Fall, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Marvel’s Avengers. So if you’re interested in any of that, you should be covered on that front.
More Forspoken Details; Project Triangle Strategy Sits This One Out
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
I really don’t think we’ll get any sort of deep dive into the recently teased game from Luminous Productions, Forspoken. However, I do think we’ll get a brief update.
Someone will come up on stage, show a brief new trailer, talk a little bit about what was shown – hopefully some gameplay – and then tell us to please look forward to it (TM).
I’d keep expectations pretty low, but I do think it’s very possible that Forspoken does get mentioned in some way unlike another recently revealed game, Project Triangle Strategy, which I’d wager gets saved for a future Nintendo Direct (maybe even this year’s E3 direct) since it’s exclusive to that console and is also quite far away from releasing.
We already know a decent amount about Project Triangle Strategy since there’s a playable demo already out there, but we know nothing about Forspoken.
Something Unexpected
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
Yeah, I know this one is kind of a cop-out since it can literally be taken as “anything” but I do think there will at least be one or two complete surprises. It doesn’t have to be a mega reveal, but just something that the gaming community didn’t see coming.
It could be something wacky like a prequel gacha mobile game set in the universe of Final Fantasy XVI, an enhanced re-release of an older Final Fantasy game like Final Fantasy 13, or maybe even Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito get up on stage and tell us what they have been working on lately.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 Gets Teased
Square Enix E3 2021 Predictions
This might be wishful thinking but I’ll wager that Square Enix ends off with a tease of the next installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2. Intergrade will be out before Square Enix takes the stage at E3, and there might already be some table dressing in place from whatever comes out of that game.
What better way to lube up the sales of Intergrade by reminding everyone that Final Fantasy VII Remake is a thing and that Part 2 is coming.
I doubt we’ll get a release date or anything substantial. Instead, it will probably be a “but wait, one last thing” kind of closer for the show that is quite short but does give us a little peek at what Part 2 will feature.
For the record, I feel the least confident in this prediction out of everything else in this article, but I don’t think the chances are zero and I’d be remiss not to mention Final Fantasy VII Remake at all.
