Final Fantasy 9 remake seems inevitable after Epic Games Store leak

A new leak has seemingly confirmed the existence of various games, namely a new Turok and the much-rumored Final Fantasy 9 remake.

While it’s been rumored for years, there’s no official word on whether a Final Fantasy 9 remake is actually in the works.

The first whispers come back in Nvidia leak from 2021, which has since proven to be remarkably accurate. While it hasn’t materialized yet, the rumor surfaced back last year before Summer Game Fest.

A new leak via the Epic Games Store, however, provides the most concrete evidence yet that something related to Final Fantasy 9 is in the works, even if it’s unclear whether it’s a remake or something else entirely.

The leak is courtesy of the recently launched EpicDB, a website that tracks the behind-the-scenes activity of the Epic Games Store in much the same way as SteamDB for Steam. Following the site’s launch this week, codenames for various projects have apparently been leaked from major publishers such as Sega, Sony, Square Enix and many others.

After the codenames circulated on ResetEra, Epic Games blocked the website and other third-party tools from accessing the store — suggesting there’s at least some legitimacy to the leak, whether it’s because they’re unannounced games or abandoned projects.

While most codenames are difficult to decipher because they are so abstract, there is evidence of some sort of Final Fantasy 9 project named ‘Momo’. Along with the registration from Square Enix, the codename comes with a number of additional listings, including the Thief’s Knives pre-order bonus and the Tetra Master Starter Pack.

The latter is the main giveaway as Tetra Master is a mini-game from the original Final Fantasy 9, which was released on the original PlayStation in 2000.

EpicDB (a SteamDB equivalent) launched and seems to be releasing many unannounced projects under code names https://t.co/5UwhvaEoZ1

Some of the listings include
-FFXVI (Skobeloff)
– FFIX Remake (Momo) with a bonus Tetra Master Pack Starter & Thief’s Knives
– Turok from Saber
– Theâ€¦ pic.twitter.com/cIqiF2wZUp

— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 12, 2024

The list hasn’t been updated since 2023, but it’s still a very strong indication that something related to Final Fantasy 9 is in the works, so it may just be a matter of time before Square Enix makes some sort of announcement.

If it is a remake, the biggest question is whether it will have the same big-budget goal as the Final Fantasy 7 remakes. The latter is split into a trilogy, with the second game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, coming out in February of this year.

Elsewhere in the leak, a listing under Saber Interactive is simply titled ‘Turok’ – with it being unclear whether it refers to a new game in the series or a remaster. Turok, a first-person shooter where you hunt dinosaurs, first debuted on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, but the latest entry was a reboot for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2008.

There’s already plenty of speculation about other codenames, including an entry that some believe is the rumored PC port of the original Red Dead Redemption. As always, we will have to wait and see which projects come to fruition.