Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s Physical Copy Won’t Work Without A Download

Square Enix confirmed in its official Final Fantasy VII Revelation announcement that buying a physical copy won’t get players out of downloading the game anyway. The disclaimer is blunt about it: “An internet connection is required to download additional game data in order to play the physical version of the game,” a line that applies to both the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S releases.

FF7 Revelation Will Require Internet Download No Matter The Format

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth shipped with two physical Blu-ray discs in 2024 so the full game could be installed without needing to touch the internet. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation on PS5 and Xbox ships on one disc, and a chunk of the game’s data has to be downloaded no matter how it’s purchased.

Square Enix hasn’t published an exact file size for the PS5 or Xbox versions, but given what the Switch 2 numbers look like, it’s reasonable to expect Revelation is a considerably larger install than Rebirth was. For Switch 2, the game needs an internet connection and at least 130GB of free storage, according to Square Enix.

The Switch 2 Card Situation

On Switch 2, Revelation is releasing as a single Game-Key Card, the same format Square Enix used for Remake Intergrade and Rebirth on that platform. A Game-Key Card functions more like a license than actual storage. It’s what tells the console which game to download and unlock, rather than holding the game’s data itself.

Requiring a day-one download for a physical release isn’t new to the industry; file sizes have been outpacing what a single disc or cartridge can physically hold for years now. Square Enix hasn’t given a specific reason for dropping Rebirth’s two-disc approach, but Revelation’s jump to a fully open world, complete with a flyable Highwind and far more explorable space, is the most obvious explanation, alongside avoiding early leaks of physical copies.

Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches April 8, 2027, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.