Leaks are nothing new to the gaming industry and in fact, it has become an even bigger deal since games have gone online. Dataminers are able to scour game files and databases to dig up hidden details before a company likely intended fans to know about certain things. Recently, many high profile games have had details spoiled early like Battlefield 2042 which continued to suffer leaks nearly a month before its reveal, and Destiny 2 had parts of it's current seasonal storyline leaked out way earlier than intended.
Platform exclusivity is also a hot topic within the community, with many announcements immediately met by questions as to whether it's a permanent exclusive or simply a timed one. Many fans have asked that question regarding Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which has appeared on the PS4 and just recently the PS5. While it was understood that this was a timed exclusive for the PlayStation brand, it appears that the PC version is slowly coming to light thanks to another find by dataminers.
The discovery was made in EpicData, a location that allows players to dig through the contents of the Epic Games Store servers. Players found the game names appearing under the CloudSaveFolder value string under the hidden customAttributes folder. While the Final Fantasy 7 Remake name is obscured in other parts of the code, the Cloud Saves area keeps the game name visible, leading to the reveal. In addition, the ff7remakedevice.sav file is mentioned along with developer information listed as Square Enix Japan.
However, Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn't the only bit of good news for PC players. Also within the Epic Games Store, Alan Wake Remastered was discovered in a different part of the list as well. What's interesting about this discovery is that a remastered version has yet to receive any official announcement outside of a casual mention in a survey all the way back in 2015. Similarly, the game's developer is listed as Remedy under the CloudSaveFolder directory, leading many to believe that Remedy has been quietly working on this for quite some time.
While nothing is imminent regarding the Alan Wake franchise, rumors began swirling regarding Alan Wake 2. The sequel would again be handled by Remedy instead partnering with Epic Games rather than Microsoft. This listing lends credibility to the rumor as it shows both companies working together again for bring the franchise to PC.
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake news is far less surprising considering the timed exclusivity. Square Enix has also recently brought a number of its franchises to the Epic Games Store including Kingdom Hearts. The upcoming NEO: The World Ends With You is also a EGS exclusive, so there definitely appears to be a relationship forming between the two companies enough to eventually bring the fan favorite game to Epic's platform.