Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake Director Defends Controversial Swap 2 Selection

The bodily version of the Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Swap 2 port will come on a Recreation-Key Card as a result of Sq. Enix is seeking to maximize the RPG’s efficiency, in response to the sport’s director, Naoki Hamaguchi. This clarification got here throughout a latest interview wherein Hamaguchi additionally mentioned extra particulars about essentially the most contentious facet of the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake port.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is releasing January 22, 2026, for Switch 2.

On September 12, Hamaguchi personally revealed that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to the Switch 2 and Xbox Collection X/S. Sq. Enix adopted up on that announcement by sharing the field designs of the brand new variations’ bodily editions. It did not take lengthy for followers to note that the Swap 2 model was listed as a Recreation-Key Card launch. As is the case with all high-profile titles using this format, the revelation prompted some on-line complaints.

Swap 2 Recreation-Key Playing cards Supply Quicker Loading Instances Than Cartridges

In a brand new interview with German outlet JPGames (by way of Automaton West), Hamaguchi defended the choice to ship the upcoming port on a Recreation-Key Card as an alternative of a cartridge, which might doubtlessly make it playable out of the field, with out requiring a considerable obtain. The trade veteran argued that “high-end HD” tasks within the vein of Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade face bottlenecks within the type of loading speeds on cartridges. Operating the sport from the interior flash storage is notably sooner, which is why Sq. Enix opted for a Recreation-Key Card, basically digitalizing the RPG’s Swap 2 “bodily” version.

Cloud Strife fighting some enemies alone - Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Hamaguchi acknowledged participant complaints about Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade launching on a Game-Key Card, saying he understands why some followers dislike the format. Nonetheless, he insisted that the loading-time trade-off of a conventional cartridge launch was not justified on this case. “[A cartridge] goes to be inferior, it simply needs to be, that’s the way in which the media works, bodily,” he mentioned.

Yuffie in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Episode INTERmission

Why Are Swap 2 Recreation-Key Playing cards So Controversial?

Some vocal Nintendo fans have been pushing back against Game-Key Cards since they had been introduced in April 2025, citing issues over recreation preservation stemming from “pretend bodily” bins that do not truly comprise video games and depend on servers that Nintendo might shut down sooner or later. The Japanese gaming big framed the format as a option to let builders bypass storage and loading velocity limitations of cartridges—as Hamaguchi now reiterated—whereas concurrently lowering bodily distribution prices, since Recreation-Key Playing cards are considerably cheaper than cartridges. In addition they permit for license transfers by merely handing them over to another person, very like conventional bodily video games.

[A cartridge] goes to be inferior, it simply needs to be, that’s the way in which the media works, bodily.

Remaining Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will attain the Swap 2 on January 22, 2026. That is additionally the date of the sport’s Xbox Collection X/S launch. Sq. Enix is not stopping there, with Hamaguchi beforehand revealing that your complete Final Fantasy 7 remake series can be making the soar to each platforms in due time. There’s nonetheless no phrase on when Remaining Fantasy 7 Rebirth will make its option to Nintendo’s newest console, however given what Hamaguchi says about its predecessor, it appears seemingly that its bodily model can even be a Recreation-Key Card launch.