I think everyone whose had contact with the Final Fantasy series this century knows that their attempts at subseries have met with decidedly mixed responses due to a variety of circumstances. Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy (and by extension the Final Fantasy XV Universe) - or FNC for short - and the Ivalice Alliance. These are the subseries that Square Enix has most prominently created, and reactions to them have varied wildly. Despite this, they have also proven relatively successful commercially, so I think Square Enix will continue to experiment with the form. Below are my opinions on which existing or potential subseries are more likely to be continued or created.
Compilation: This is something that I'm slightly doubtful of, but the likelihood has increased with the development of VII Remake. The team may decide to create new games around this project, likely delegating to smaller or external studios for the technical and gameplay elements while handling the story themselves. Or they may decide to leave it alone once VII Remake is completed.
Ivalice: In the wake of The Zodiac Age's potential success, the team may decide to either bring back early entries as re-releases or remakes, or they may decide to create new games. This would give the biggest potential second chance for classics such as Vagrant Story to return to glory.
FNC: As much as I like this one, it's been a problem child for Square Enix for a number of reasons, mostly related to development difficulties and poor explanation or translation of the lore. Once Final Fantasy XV and its additional media have been released, I doubt they would return to it unless a very special opportunity arose. But on the whole, with sadness, I think this particular project is nearly dead.
The strongest possibility is that Square Enix will create a different subseries, using lessons learnt from earlier explorations of the form. This will allow them to bring the best aspects, fan feedback, and new ideas to a new generation of gamers and Final Fantasy fans. The boom of the portable and mobile markets, together with their recent success with the high-quality Mobius Final Fantasy, can enable them to plan out a large multi-platform subseries project while doing their best to avoid the spiraling budget and hardware problems that beset FNC.
Compilation: This is something that I'm slightly doubtful of, but the likelihood has increased with the development of VII Remake. The team may decide to create new games around this project, likely delegating to smaller or external studios for the technical and gameplay elements while handling the story themselves. Or they may decide to leave it alone once VII Remake is completed.
Ivalice: In the wake of The Zodiac Age's potential success, the team may decide to either bring back early entries as re-releases or remakes, or they may decide to create new games. This would give the biggest potential second chance for classics such as Vagrant Story to return to glory.
FNC: As much as I like this one, it's been a problem child for Square Enix for a number of reasons, mostly related to development difficulties and poor explanation or translation of the lore. Once Final Fantasy XV and its additional media have been released, I doubt they would return to it unless a very special opportunity arose. But on the whole, with sadness, I think this particular project is nearly dead.
The strongest possibility is that Square Enix will create a different subseries, using lessons learnt from earlier explorations of the form. This will allow them to bring the best aspects, fan feedback, and new ideas to a new generation of gamers and Final Fantasy fans. The boom of the portable and mobile markets, together with their recent success with the high-quality Mobius Final Fantasy, can enable them to plan out a large multi-platform subseries project while doing their best to avoid the spiraling budget and hardware problems that beset FNC.