During the week an oversight on Sony’s part has yielded spoilers for fans of the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake. Now before we continue, it is crucial that we tell you that we’re not listing any Final Fantasy VII Remake spoilers in this post. This is because it’s a disservice to long time Final Fantasy veterans looking forward to a HD re-telling of this classic since that PS3 tech demo while newcomers deserve to go into this new interpretation with fresh eyes. Furthermore, we just find it ridiculous to spoil a game that’s old enough to vote and drink in most parts of the world. With that out of the way, here’s what went down.
First up, a Final Fantasy VII Remake demo for the PS4 is on the way. This was initially revealed on PS Store tracking site Gamstat. Secondly, the demo was present for an extended period of time on Sony’s servers during which hackers and data miners were able to download the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo in its entirety. Yes, all 10.1GB of it.
What’s more is, you didn’t need a PS4 to download the demo with some reporting you could acquire it with a PC. Thankfully, the demo only runs on hacked PS4 consoles or those running firmware 5.05. Though you can inspect the files on a PC with the requisite software tools.
I don’t support it neither but it’s not my fault when you can Download full Games from the Store without needing a Console. ?
— Roxanne (@roXyPS3) January 2, 2020
Just want to let people know this to clear things up:
-The entirety of FF7R has not leaked. There were database listings, but those were taken down.
-The demo has leaked, has been datamined and can even be played on PS4 FW 5.05
-The demo contains files from the full game— Mystic (@MysticDistance) January 2, 2020
All of this has resulted in a slew of spoilers regarding the Final Fantasy VII Remake hitting the internet a good three months before the game’s March release date. Not only were demo details spoiled but information regarding parts of the game extending beyond the demo were made public too. Not a good look for Square Enix or Sony.
For its part, Square Enix is yet to comment on the existence of the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo or the extent of its spoilers out in the wild, though those close to the company suggest it may be cancelled altogether. Sony hasn’t said anything either, though at the time of filing this story, it has been pulled from its servers.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s a disturbing state of affairs. You’d think Sony wouldn’t have security that’s this lax. More so regarding a game it has invested in that’s a timed exclusive to the PS4. If this is how Sony treats its own investments can you imagine how user data regarding the PS Store and PSN are handled? We should expect better from a company that’s sold over a 100 million consoles this generation.
This isn’t the only time Square Enix has had issues with leaks. In the past its demo for Deus Ex: Human Revolution was leaked far and wide while early copies of Kingdom Hearts 3 were out months prior to release last year. Hopefully this latest incident serves as a warning against shoddy security measures given the length and breadth of details revealed.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is out on March 3 of this year. You can check out all our spoiler-free coverage right here.
