Final Fantasy VII remake will be built in Unreal Engine 4 and released episodically, Square Enix says.

"We realize how special Final Fantasy VII is to fans, and we place our trust in Unreal Engine 4 technology and tools to help deliver this long-awaited remake, crafted for modern platforms," Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase told IGN.

Meanwhile, the publisher confirmed with Kotaku that the game will be released in parts.

“It means instead of concluding in one entry, multiple entries are being considered in development,” it said in a statement.

“Each entry will have its own unique story. As a gaming experience, each entry will have the volume of content equal to a full-sized game.”

Meanwhile, other details from interviews Kitase and character designer Tetsuya Nomura held with Japanese media have been roughly translated over at NeoGAF.

It seems that the game will be episodic as Square Enix considered it impossible to remake FF7 as a single game.

“If we tried to stuff the whole game into one release, some part of the game would have to appear as digests,” Nomura is quoted as saying.

“We'd have to remove some contents from the game, and it would be difficult to add more to the game. Considering that a full remake of the original game must be achived, we have decided to split the game into episodes.”

Regarding combat, he added: “Since the game is based on FF7, elements like ATB gauge and limitbreak will appear but with new useage. Please wait for our further announcements on how they would evolve.”

And finally, this from Kitase: “We are not going to remake a game so you only play for nostalgia. We want to make the hearts of the original fans pump. We are adjusting the storyline with this idea in mind.”

Nomura previously said the game's combat would see "dramatic changes", but also that it would still be recognisable.

The remake is coming first to PlayStation 4.