A new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer includes the most jacked horse you've ever seen, Cloud riding a Segway, and the PlayStation 5 release date: February 29, 2024.
We've been assuming that Rebirth, the second part of Square Enix's FF7 remake trilogy, will come to PC around a year after the two-disc PS5 version releases. That's what happened with the first part, which released on the Epic Games Store in December 2021 as Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, a few months after the PS5 version and over a year-and-a-half after the PS4 version. But wait, there's a little asterisk at the end of the new Rebirth trailer:
As you can see in the image above, Square Enix sneaked in a note which says: "Not available on other formats at least until 05.29.2024." That doesn't mean that the PC version of Rebirth will definitely release at the end of May 2024, but it feels reasonable to take the note as a hint that we should expect it around then. That'd be closer to the gap between FF7 Remake's PS5 and PC versions, so it makes some sense, but it's much faster than the usual year-long exclusivity window. We'll hold off on celebrating until a real PC date is confirmed.
Regarding the rest of the trailer, remaking a 1997 PlayStation RPG as three games would seem to risk making three very thin games, but Peter Jackson managed to turn The Hobbit into three long movies by adding a bunch of appendix material, and Square Enix seems to be having no problem bulking up FF7.
"While the main storyline is bigger and more ambitious than the previous game's narrative, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth also embraces the concept of 'free exploration,' with compelling stories, fun minigames, powerful monsters, and so much more to find throughout the world map," said director Naoki Hamaguchi in a statement posted to X. "We hope you explore this world in great detail, as nearly 100 hours of adventure awaits."
One thing is for sure: Square Enix has had no problem bulking up Odin's horse, which was called "the most jacked horse of all time" in our work Slack:
I played the PC version of the original Final Fantasy 7 back in the day—the one that came in a trapezoid box—and I hit an impassable crash part way through, so I never finished it. Still, I don't think I'm wrong in saying that Cloud never drove a Segway in that game, so that's something else new you can spot in the trailer above. The rest of the trailer focuses on showing off minigames and story moments that were in the original, including Chocobo racing and a boxing minigame from FF7's version of Las Vegas.
One thing I do know is that Aerith dies, which is the one thing everyone knows about Final Fantasy 7's story. The dev statements posted to X also allude to that event and how it may or may not change in Rebirth.
"We know fans are dying to see one scene in particular," wrote producer Yoshinori Kitase (emphasis mine), who said that the story will "unfold more dramatically than ever before" and noted that Rebirth can be played as a standalone game, but that it includes a recap of FF7 Remake.
"Whether you have experienced the original title or will embark on this adventure with fresh eyes, we hope you will face the ending of this work on your own terms," wrote creative director Tetsuya Nomura, suggesting that the game's final scene will be much-discussed.
It's too bad we don't know when exactly to expect Rebirth on PC, but otherwise, my social feed is full of good feelings about the trailer. For more, there's a longer developer interview up on the PlayStation Blog.
This article was updated to reflect the latest PC release date info after we noticed that cheeky note at the end of the trailer.
