Final Fantasy 9 Remake Rumors Kick Into Overdrive as Square Enix Reveals Gorgeous New Art

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX, and Square Enix has been celebrating the game over the last few weeks. Much of the celebration has focused on new merchandise and new music compositions, and now the company has revealed some brand-new art based on the game. The game’s official X/Twitter account started this week with a brand-new calendar wallpaper created by artist Yuya Ishihata. One piece of new art was interesting, but not super notable. However, the last two days have seen another pair of images revealed, with this art done by character designer Toshiyuki Itahana.

All of this new art has increased speculation that Square Enix is building towards a much bigger announcement. While fans are excited about the artwork on its own, each post from Square Enix has resulted in replies from fans requesting that the publisher “drop the remake.” One fan even created a mock-up PS5 game case featuring Itahana’s new art of the game’s cast standing in front of the Lifa Tree (seen at the top of this page as the main image). It actually fits pretty nicely as cover art, but we’ll have to wait and see what Square Enix ends up using when/if the game gets announced.

Rumors about a Final Fantasy IX remake have been circulating online since 2021, since it was listed on a leak from Nvidia’s GeForce Now alongside several unannounced games from various publishers. Following the leak, Nvidia claimed that the list included a mix of real games and “speculative titles,” but the vast majority of the games on that list have been confirmed as legitimate in the years since. For the longest time, one of the few games on the list that had not been confirmed was a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics, but that game was announced during last month’s PlayStation State of Play.

At this point, an actual announcement for the Final Fantasy IX remake seems like it’s just a formality. The last few years have seen several industry pundits and leakers weigh in on the remake’s existence, and some have even suggested that it’s pretty far along. There’s an audience of fans eager to see it happen, and Square Enix could use a win after some high-profile games failed to perform to expectations. A Final Fantasy IX remake would generate a lot of excitement, both from those who played the original game, as well as those that got into the series a little bit later.

It’s worth noting that Final Fantasy IX‘s release date was on July 7th, 2000, which makes this coming Monday the actual date of the 25th anniversary. Fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too high, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Square Enix ended up announcing the remake on that day. Of course, it’s entirely possible the publisher could wait until some point later in the year, if rumors about an early 2026 release date prove correct. For now, fans will just have to wait to settle for all this gorgeous new artwork!

Do you think we’ll get a Final Fantasy IX remake announcement anytime soon? What do you think of all this new artwork? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!