Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has plenty of fans excited for its release, but it comes with a major catch: players will have to download the game, even if they buy the physical edition. The move comes as a considerable shift from the prior entries to the remake trilogy, and is drumming up some significant frustration prior to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation‘s launch.
Physical editions of games have been a hot topic as the industry shifts away from the standard. PlayStation announced it would stop producing new physical games in the future, and as a whole, the industry has begun to lean towards solely releasing digital copies of games rather than physical releases or an option of either.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s Big Catch
Many fans of the Square Enix series believed that the next entry, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, would follow in the footsteps of its predecessors with a physical release. In fact, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is getting a physical edition, but that’s where the catch kicks in, as the full game isn’t actually included on the disc. Instead of a two-disc release, like with Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PS4 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PS5, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will ship with just one disc. That isn’t due to an improvement in file compression or optimization, but rather that some of the game’s data will have to be downloaded from online servers.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
The move has been a controversial one among fans, to say the least. Physical releases normally put the entirety of a game in a player’s possession, but if a download is still required, some argue it defeats the point. Many players have expressed preferring physical releases for a variety of reasons. Digital-only purchases concern many because gamers aren’t actually buying the game, but rather, a license to it, which can potentially expire or be revoked in the future. Digital games also require either a lot of time or swift internet speeds to download the data, and in either case, some find themselves waiting to actually play on release day, instead of being able to simply insert a disc and immediately start. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation‘s physical/digital hybrid format arguably makes the point of having a disc version moot.
Though controversial, the decision has been defended by the developers of the game. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi spoke up on the matter and explained that if the upcoming game shipped on two discs, the team would have to compromise on the quality of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. He claims that the team opted for this manner of delivering the game in order to ensure that it lives up to everyone’s expectations without cutting corners. However, many haven’t been satisfied with this, with some arguing that it should have simply been put on three or more discs, if that’s what was needed. Others have expressed concern that if an Ultra HD Blu-ray can hold up to 100 GB and two discs isn’t enough to contain the game, then there may be a huge download awaiting them on release day.
While Square Enix hasn’t said as much, some have suspected that the cost of producing the game discs may have been the ultimate reason behind this decision. Game publishers make considerably more money off of digital releases than physical ones, and each disc produced costs money. It’s also worth noting that none of the platforms have a significant advantage in this regard, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X physical versions will both require partial downloads, while Nintendo Switch 2’s physical copy is only a Game-Key Card, which contains no game data. Square Enix doesn’t appear to be backing down, so the only real options left are to either buy a partially physical release or a completely digital one – or to skip the game entirely.
- Released
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April 8, 2027
- Prequel(s)
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Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
