Microsoft has confirmed that a post from its Brazilian Twitter account which included a character from Final Fantasy 7 Remake did so only by mistake and that it was not, in fact, a furtive teaser for a potential Xbox release.
On August 13, Microsoft's Xbox Brazil Twitter account posted a Father's Day message, honoring characters from across a wide range of Xbox-friendly titles. Barret from Final Fantasy 7 Remake stood as an odd one out, however, since, despite being an excellent father, the games in which he appears are not available on Xbox - with the notable exception of the original 1997 version of Final Fantasy 7.
The Tweet, however, showed Barret in his remake incarnation, just as he appeared in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and is set to appear in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Though due to release on PS5 in early 2024, there are no plans for either Rebirth or its predecessor to join Xbox's roster.
Though the Tweet was swiftly taken down, a record of the original tweet can be found on the Wayback Machine - a nonprofit internet archive (via TheGamer). The Tweet shows fathers from Persona 5, The Witcher 3, Gears 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and a range of other Xbox games in a charming mosaic. However, despite taking center stage in the image, Barret and his daughter Marlene found themselves to be the odd ones out.
Addressing the error via social media, Microsoft offered clarifications around the initial Father's Day post: "The image was posted in error and removed as it included a title not available on Xbox" (via Eurogamer).
Despite Microsoft once planning to acquire Square Enix for itself, it looks like many of the best JRPGs will remain unplayable on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One for the time being. Despite being a critical success, there are as yet no signs that Final Fantasy 16 will be making the journey across to Microsoft's consoles.
That said, it looks like critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy 14 will be coming to Xbox in Spring 2024, according to a post on the official Xbox blog. Though it's early days, it's not impossible that Final Fantasy 14's arrival on Microsoft's console might open the doors for other Square Enix titles down the line. However, as the Father's Day Tweet debacle clearly shows, those doors are very much not open yet.
If you're disappointed by the lack of Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox, why not let our list of the best Xbox Series X games distract you? Alternatively, our best RPGs list contains oodles of Xbox-friendly offerings.
