Final Fantasy VII Revelation Director Addresses Physical Disc Download Requirement

Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy VII Revelation, has spoken out about why the physical disc version on PlayStation 5 and Xbox requires an internet download to play.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the physical edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X comes on a single disc and mandates an online connection to download additional game data. In contrast, the first two entries in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Remake and Rebirth, each shipped on two discs—one for installation and one for gameplay. For Nintendo Switch 2, Final Fantasy VII Revelation will be available on a game-key card.

This decision upset some fans who expected Revelation to be playable without an update, as its predecessors were. The X/Twitter account Does it play?, which advocates for physical media and video game preservation, commented: "The game not getting a proper physical release on any platform is the only detail that should be discussed. What were you thinking, in all honesty?"

In a new interview with IGN, Hamaguchi explained that even if Square Enix had used the same number of discs as Rebirth, the game's quality would have suffered. Thus, the "only choice" was to release it on a single disc with a required download.

"First and foremost, personally, I'm very happy that we are able to release a physical disc version of FFVII Revelation considering how the entire gaming market, or the landscape, is veering towards the disc-less direction," Hamaguchi said, referencing Sony's controversial decision to end production of PlayStation discs from 2028.

"And after we launched preorders, we did see some fans voicing their concerns and raising questions about the physical discs requiring some internet download. So I would like to address that.

"When we had an internal discussion with the development team about how we wanted to approach the physical discs and the physical releases of FFVII Revelation, initially there were conversations about using the same disc size as we did for, say, FFVII Rebirth. But if we were to do that, it would mean that we would have to make a compromise in terms of the fidelity and the quality of the game. So as a development team, we didn't want to do that. We didn't want to make any compromises for the game. So realistically, the only choice that we had was to release this physical disc, but with certain sections of the game being a digital download format through the physical disc."

Hamaguchi acknowledged the fan complaints but expressed satisfaction with the outcome. "With that being said, I completely understand that not all players might be happy with this decision, but at the same time, I am happy that we were still able to release a physical format of the game," he said. "So I am quite satisfied with the end results as well. I would hope that our fans and players would be able to share that as well."

Final Fantasy VII Revelation is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on April 8, 2027.