A prominent leaker is hinting that a remaster of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is on the way and will receive a multiplatform release, ahead of the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration that is due to take place tomorrow. Crisis Core was an FF7 prequel released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007 and its events have become especially important in the new timeline of FF7 Remake.
Crisis Core is an action RPG that stars Zack Fair, who is a member of the SOLDIER unit and a major character in the backstory of FF7. The events of Crisis Core show the end of the Wutai War, the decline of the original members of SOLDIER, Sephiroth's descent into madness, the destruction of Nibelheim, and the events leading up to FF7. The ending of the INTERmission DLC for FF7 Remake confirms that Zack is still alive in the new timeline, so it makes sense that Square Enix would want his game to be more accessible to modern audiences, especially if Zack is going to be part of future games.
The leaker known as The Snitch has uploaded a screenshot of the FF7 Remake that prominently features Zack Fair, with a blue, green, red, and black box above it, suggesting that Crisis Core is making a return and is coming to all platforms. The blue in this situation would represent PlayStation, the green Xbox, the red Nintendo Switch, and the black is likely Steam or the Epic Games Store. The new game will likely be announced during the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration livestream, which will happen tomorrow, and is being heavily promoted as a huge event by Square Enix. The fact that the Switch is there lends more credence to it being a remaster and not a remake, as the Switch should be able to run an upgraded PSP game.
The other possible meaning behind the image is that more ports of FF7 Remake are on the way, as there were recent FF7 Remake Intergrade trademarks hinting at a multiplatform release. When FF7 Remake launched in 2020, it remained a PS4 exclusive for a year. The FF7 Remake Intergrade release seemed to extend this agreement, as the new version of the game would launch on the Epic Games Store six months later. FF7 Remake has yet to launch on other platforms, but the Epic Games Store release was six months ago, and the PS5 launch of FF7 Remake Intergrade was a year ago, so current exclusivity deals could be ending soon.
Square Enix has been porting a lot of its old library to modern systems, with games like Live A Live and Front Mission Remake coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022, and Chrono Cross and Radical Dreamers receiving multiplatform versions earlier in the year. Crisis Core still holds up after all of these years and it's long overdue for a console remaster. It's unclear if the events of Crisis Core happened in the new FF7 Remake timeline, but if the game is being remastered, then that means Square Enix could still consider it to be canon.
The Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration will take place on June 16, 2022, at 3:00 PDT.
Source: The Snitch/Twitter