Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Producer Explains Reason for PS5 Exclusivity

One of the producers behind Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has explained why the second installment in the ongoing Remake series will be exclusive to PlayStation 5. Back when Final Fantasy VII Remake first arrived in 2020, it was originally exclusive to PlayStation 4 before later coming to PC and PS5. And while those on Xbox have been wondering whether the series will also come to their platform of choice, it sounds like Square Enix is making these games exclusive to PS5 due to its hardware specs. 

In a new interview with Japanese publication Gamer, longtime Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase was asked about the PS5 exclusivity with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. In short, Kitase praised what the PS5 is able to do graphically and also hyped up the console's SSD. Because of this, those who played Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4 shouldn't expect Rebirth to arrive on Sony's last-gen platform. 

"It's exclusive to PlayStation 5 because of the graphical quality, of course, as well as SSD access speed," Kitase said. "Since the adventure unfolds in a vast world after the escape from Midgar, loading stress is an extreme bottleneck. We felt we needed the specifications of PlayStation 5 to overcome that and travel the world comfortably."

In short, it sounds like the scope of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is going to be much greater than that of Remake, which is why a last-gen version for PS4 isn't in the works. Still, to see Kitase specifically praise the graphical power and SSD of the PS5 indicates that this game was built from the ground up for next-gen hardware. Whether or not it could also come to PC and Xbox Series X in the future remains to be seen, but both of these platforms would surely be able to run the game. 

At this point in time, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth doesn't have a launch date but it's set to release at some point in winter 2023. When it does arrive, it will solely be available for PS5, although a release on other platforms further down the line could also transpire. 

[H/T Gematsu]