It came to light yesterday that some retailers possessing Final Fantasy 7 Remake broke its street date. Fans that were lucky enough to receive their copies early took to social media to reveal the news with pictures of the game's real-life container box.
These reveals came right on the heels of Square Enix explaining that the release of the game would be erratic due to the COVID-19 situation: It predicted that not everyone would receive a copy of the game at launch as scheduled. However, Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Director (Tetsuya Nomura) and Producer (Yoshinori Kitase) have sent out a joint statement in response to the early releases, one revealing that the decision was intentional on their part.
The duo explains that they and their team had to make some tough decisions in regards to how the release schedule would work. They found that the disruption in the Remake's distribution channels was worse in the eastern regions than in the west. As a result, Square Enix decided to release the game early in these places, particularly in Europe and Australia.
The two go on to say that Square will ship out copies of Remake to western regions -- "including the Americas" -- this week and that they're optimistic that everyone in these regions will get a copy of the game by launch day. However, due to the challenging circumstances of the situation, Square Enix cannot provide any specific delivery dates for each country and retailer.
The company does recognize that its decision to release the game just under two weeks early in only some areas has increased the chances of spoilers. So Nomura and Kitase have asked fans with early copies to do them a favor: don't spoil the game. They know that Final Fantasy 7's story has been around for over 20 years, but FF7 Remake is a new game, one that offers fresh experiences and surprises that everyone should be able to enjoy on their own. The statement finishes with both development members thanking everyone for their support, including fans, retailers, and the rest of the development team.
Sadly, of course, there will be people who ignore Nomura and Kitase's request, so fans that want to avoid spoilers should still be cautious when browsing the internet. But it is reassuring to know that Final Fantasy 7 Remake will more than likely arrive early rather than late.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake will launch for the PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020.