FF7 Revelation Director Hamaguchi Says He Fought Square Enix to Keep a Physical Edition

Alex Turner03/10/20264 min read

Picture it: you rip the shrink-wrap off Final Fantasy VII Revelation on April 8, slide the disc in, and get through the opening. Then the game asks you to download the rest. Director Naoki Hamaguchi says even that half-physical copy took a fight. In a new interview with Radio Times, he said he pushed Square Enix for a physical release. He also admitted the final call was never his to make.

His line on the publisher talks is blunt. “I used my position to put forth an argument for the physical version as much as possible,” Hamaguchi said, according to Tech4Gamers’ write-up of the interview. He framed it against an industry where, as he put it, there’s heavy pressure to ship disc-less and digital editions.

Hamaguchi says SKUs are the publishing team’s call

That’s where the director runs out of road. As GamesRadar+ reported from the same interview, Hamaguchi said “The product line-up, the SKUs (stock keeping units), how it’s going on sale; that is the responsibility of the publishing team. So, my authority there is somewhat limited”.

He didn’t brush off the backlash. “I do really like and appreciate physical media. I see a lot of people on social media saying, ‘No disc, no purchase,’ and I understand where they’re coming from.”

The bigger headline is where he thinks boxed games are heading. Hamaguchi said he can see “a world in the not-too-distant future where physical media is essentially disc-less,” with a code printed on paper inside the box. That’s a striking thing for the director of one of the biggest RPG trilogies of the decade to say out loud.

Collectors are split on whether a fought-for disc that can’t run the full game is a win at all:

One PS5 disc, one Xbox disc and a game-key card on Switch 2

Here’s what’s actually in the box. Square Enix’s launch announcement lists physical pre-orders for PlayStation 5 (one disc), Xbox Series X (one disc), and Nintendo Switch 2 (game key card). So Switch 2 owners don’t get any game data on the cart at all.

Hamaguchi summed up the disc versions himself. “You can’t play the entire game on that disc, but it’s got the opening – a sort of key disc, and then after that, it will ask you to download the rest.” Rebirth shipped on two discs. Revelation is down to one, and it’s a partial one.

The game launches on April 8, 2027, across PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, XBOX Series X|S and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and XBOX on PC. In the US, the physical lineup starts with a Standard ($69.99) edition and steps up to a $99.99 Deluxe, per Square Enix’s press release.

IGN interview: Rebirth-sized discs would have cost Revelation its fidelity

This isn’t the first time Hamaguchi has had to defend the download. Last month he told IGN the team had looked at matching Rebirth’s disc setup. As PC Gamer relayed, he said doing that “would mean that we would have to make a compromise in terms of the fidelity and the quality of the game.”

That explanation landed badly. Plenty of fans pointed out that other huge games run fully off the disc. Hamaguchi followed up on social media, and TheGamer quoted him saying “We understand that this decision may not meet everyone’s expectations.”

Our view: the Radio Times comments read like a director trying to separate himself from a product decision he didn’t love. That’s fair. He also clearly fought for it. But a disc that only boots the opening chapter is a licence with a bit of data attached. When the servers go dark in 20 years, your Revelation case gets you Midgar’s opening act and nothing else. Hollow Knight on a Switch cart will outlive it.

Sony’s 2028 disc cutoff looms over the FF7 Revelation launch

Then there’s the backdrop. GamesRadar+ notes the conversation is happening alongside PlayStation’s decision to stop producing physical games in 2028. Revelation squeaks in before that cutoff. The remake trilogy’s finale could easily be the last mainline Final Fantasy to get any kind of PS5 disc.

Hamaguchi’s position hasn’t changed much since the summer. Back in an AUTOMATON interview around the reveal, he said “Personally, I’m in favor of physical editions.” He also flagged then that every platform has its own regulations, whether that’s support for Game-Key Cards or media capacity limitations. In hindsight, that was a pretty clear hint at the Switch 2 key card.

If you’re buying physical for the shelf, nothing’s changed. If you’re buying it to play offline, or on a slow connection, plan for a big download. That goes double for regional players on capped plans. Pre-orders are open now on every platform except Switch 2 digital, which Square Enix says will be available at a later date. Day one is April 8, 2027.