Square Enix has announced that the physical edition of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth requires additional downloads before it can be played normally.
The PlayStation physical editions of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth both use a dual-disc design, containing all the initial data from the game's launch (pre-update version content).
As the third installment in the series, the physical edition of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will switch to a single-disc or single-cartridge format across all platforms, requiring players to download additional data before playing.
Regarding the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, Square Enix's disclaimer states: "An internet connection is required to play the physical edition of this game in order to download additional game data."
The exact approach remains unclear: whether the disc contains part of the game content with only the remainder requiring an online download, or if the disc merely serves as an "unlock key" with the full game needing to be downloaded.
As for the Nintendo Switch 2 version, it will follow the previous two titles by using a game key card format, meaning players will need to download the entire game on their Nintendo console.
Square Enix has indicated that the Switch 2 version requires 130GB of storage space, while the capacity requirements for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions have not yet been confirmed.
Since the maximum capacity of a PS5 disc is 100GB, this means that if Square Enix were to include the full game data on the disc as before, Rebirth would require at least two discs (consistent with its predecessors). However, this physical edition comes with only a single disc.
This news comes as PlayStation continues to push towards a disc-free future, having previously announced that all new PlayStation games will no longer be produced on physical discs starting January 2028.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC on April 8, 2027, officially concluding the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.