Final Fantasy 7 reveal Naoki Hamaguchi said he did his best to fight for a disc release as the industry moves toward a “future where physical media is essentially discless.”
The lead developer in charge of the new chapter of next year’s remake spoke about the state of the game during an interview with Radio schedules. It’s a topic he’s touched on before, but this time he explained how his own appreciation for physical media led him to push for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation to get at least one disc as the industry moves toward an all-digital future.
“Personally, obviously, I bought a lot of physical editions of games when I was a kid. Sometimes I buy digital editions of games, but if I’m particularly attached to a title, I want to get the physical version,” Hamaguchi said, highlighting how the topic of an all-digital future has become “particularly sensitive” in recent months. “And you know, being in the industry, sometimes I want to ask my friends or acquaintances who have worked on something to sign a copy of their own game.”
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is confirmed to have a disc option when it launches in 2027, but there are some caveats. When physical owners of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series a strong one at that. It’s a decision that divides some fans, but not a single Hamaguchi and the Square Enix team took lightly.
“I really love and appreciate physical media,” he said. “I see a lot of people on social media saying, ‘No disc, no buy,’ and I understand where they’re coming from.”
Hamaguchi acknowledged that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation provides an alternative to the disc for those who want it, even if it is simply a “key disc” that only has “the opening”. He added that he understands that “there are people who have a lot of opinions” about the future of physical media and shared a message to those who are most passionate about this issue.
“First of all, people are saying to me on social media, ‘Give us a full version on disc!’ And so, from a general point of view, let me first say that as a director, it’s my responsibility to take care of the content of the game to make sure that it’s fun, really exciting,” he said. Then, smiling, he added: “The product line, the SKUs (stock keeping units), how they’re put on sale; that’s the responsibility of the publishing team. So my authority there is somewhat limited.”
Despite the “pressure” for discless and digital editions, Hamaguchi said he was “using my position to make as much of an argument for the physical release as possible.” This resulted in negotiations, “both internally and with first parties”, leading to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s single-disc strategy. He added, “I completely understand that there are people who maybe don’t really agree with this direction or approve of this direction,” but that’s what he fought for, and that’s the best result he could get.
“I completely understand that there are people who don’t really agree with this direction or who don’t approve of it,” he said. “But I would just like to say that I hope you understand that I totally see where you’re coming from and I’ve done my best.”
He added with a laugh: “It’s a very delicate subject.”
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be released with a disc when it releases on PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series months before PlayStation phases out physical versions of new PS5 games. Even after Rockstar signaled a change in the times by announcing a discless release for Grand Theft Auto 6, Sony’s decision sent shockwaves through the industry.
Gaming fans have been expecting an entirely digital future, but it seems to be here sooner than expected. Elsewhere in the interview, Hamaguchi said he believes “physical media will remain in some form in the future,” but it’s impossible to deny that change is coming.
“But the PC market, for example, is going from strength to strength, and many people are already buying digital copies of games and simply downloading them.
“So I can imagine a world in the not-so-distant future where physical media would be essentially diskless. You’d have a copy of the code on a piece of paper inside the physical box or something like that.”
To learn more about why the team at Square Enix chose to approach the physical release of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation the way they did, you can check out Hamaguchi’s explanation here. You can also read learn more about the director’s love of physical media.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer at IGN. He is best known for his work on sites like The Pitch, The Escapist and OnlySP. Be sure to follow him on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Gn tech
