Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is Available Now, 9 Days Early

Square Enix shipped Final Fantasy 7 Remake early to Australia as a result of the coronavirus. And as sure as the sun rises in the morning, the game has broken street date in Australia, 9 days before its official release.

Despite still having an official release date of April 10, gamers around the world have started to get their hands on the game early. EB Games staff confirmed to Kotaku Australia over the phone that customers could pick up the game in store from today, and JB Hi-Fi posted a notice on their page asking Australians not to spoil the game for others:

The situation seemed inevitable, after Square informed gamers a few days ago that copies of FF7R would be shipped early due to complications around the coronavirus pandemic. The street date breaking this early in Australia mirrors a similar move by EB Games (which JB Hi-Fi followed) by selling Persona 5: Royal a week before its release.

#FinalFantasy VII Remake is AVAILABLE NOW on PlayStation 4! An iconic adventure, reimagined: https://t.co/EvscgCkyxk If you get the game early, please think of others and don’t spoil it for them. Please do not post videos or screenshots until it is officially on sale April 10. pic.twitter.com/iUEMBhxh6a — EBGamesAUs (@EBGamesAus) March 31, 2020

Breaking street date also has one other major advantage: it avoids Good Friday. When Final Fantasy 7 Remake was delayed from March to April, Square decided to move the game’s release to April 10, a restricted trading day throughout most of Australia because of the Good Friday public holiday.

The street date breaking does not apply to digital stores, so people hoping to grab the game early without leaving the house are out of luck. Copies ordered through the PlayStation Store won’t unlock until April 10, so if you want to get a copy of the game, you’ll need to do some “essential” shopping.

Kotaku Australia reached out to Square Enix for comment on the game breaking street date in Australia. The company declined to comment, instead referring inquiries to the public statement made by Square below:

An important message from the #FinalFantasy VII Remake development team. #FF7R pic.twitter.com/UwBMNaIaXX — FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (@finalfantasyvii) March 30, 2020

Square also reminded gamers to check over their Material Usage License if they do get a copy of the game early, which says “users are not publicly authorised to post content before April 10 2020”. But with gamers posting screenshots and streams online, it seems the horse has well and truly bolted on that one.