Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Physical Release Sparks Backlash

Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will require additional downloads for its physical release, raising concerns among fans of physical media and game collecting.

The hype for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the last installment in Square Enix’s remake trilogy, has been huge. The most recent major info drop gave fans greater insight into the game’s ambitious features, its April 8 release date, and more content involving Vincent and Sephiroth. The announcement brought plenty of joy, but one less pleasant report has recently emerged about the game’s physical release.

Square Enix has announced that physical copies of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will not include the full game on disc. To play the physical version on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, users will need to connect to the internet to download additional game data. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch 2 release will be sold as a Game-Key Card, so users must download the necessary game data at first launch.

Square Enix said the Switch 2 version will require at least 130GB of free storage space to download.

This strategy is growing popular across the industry, but the choice will be a severe blow to physical-game fans, given what Final Fantasy 7 means to them. The reaction is partly tied to the franchise's history. The last edition in the series, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, was notoriously distributed on two discs, a fact Square Enix even used to promote the game.

This decision was particularly poignant for veteran fans, given the original Final Fantasy 7 itself was released on three discs on the original PlayStation. For collectors, it’s a big change to have the remake trilogy culminate with a physical disk that doesn’t include the full game. Square Enix has long catered aggressively to collectors with extravagant editions, including super-expensive packages with statues, art books, and other physical artifacts.

That makes the decision especially interesting for an audience that values owning a physical copy of their favorite games. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will not go fully digital. PlayStation and Xbox players still get actual packaging and discs. But the disc itself won't include everything needed to play the game without a download. That discrepancy may seem tiny to some players, but it’s a big deal to preservationists and collectors.

The timing also adds to the scenario's symbolism. Final Fantasy 7 was originally released in 1997 and has served as an essential entryway into gaming for many players. The three-disc PlayStation version is now a sentimental collector's item, a relic of a time when a game really saved its data on the disks you got in the box.

Now, decades later, the remake trilogy will complete with a release that symbolizes the industry's growing dependence on digital downloads.

That disparity is hard to ignore for players who have tracked Final Fantasy 7 across generations. It could also raise issues about other big Square Enix initiatives. With complex games like Kingdom Hearts 4 on the horizon, fans may wonder whether similar physical-release tactics will become the norm for the publisher. The Final Fantasy 7 Revelation debate will probably not harm the game’s sales.

The title will probably draw a big crowd no matter how the physical version works, and most players probably won’t ever think about the difference between a full disk and one that needs extra data. But for the physical-media devotee, the announcement means much, much more. As games get bigger and bigger, they rely on downloads, and the old idea of buying a whole game on disk or cartridge is dying away. 

This makes Final Fantasy 7 Revelation a particularly poignant example. The franchise started with one of the most legendary multi-disc releases in gaming history, and its remake trilogy may now end with a physical edition that requires an online connection. For preservationists and collectors, it’s a depressing way to conclude the book.