Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo leaked, contains spoilers for final version

Disclaimer: This article does not contain spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Christmas came a bit late for fans of the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but they’ve gotten quite the gift. A playable demo of Final Fantasy 7 Remake has leaked and made rounds across the Internet, but the demo is only the start.

The demo, gameplay of which can be found on YouTube, was first seen on December 25th by Gamstat, a website that tracks updates to the PlayStation Network. Gamstat noticed a screenshot for a demo of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which led some intrepid hunters to plumb the depths of the PSN. Some struck gold and found the actual files for the demo, though the actual methods used to obtain the demo aren’t fully known. Ars Technica reports that users “simply employed a spoofed IP address to access the demo ahead of its public launch,” those this hasn’t been confirmed.

Interestingly, the package contained more than just limited gameplay. Digging through the files included with the downloaded demo, gamers have found a variety of assets that many assume will be used in the final game. These range from new or remastered music to unfinished character models to storyboards, revealing pieces of the game’s plot. There are also several references to "Nvidia" and "AMD" in some files, possibly confirming that a PC port is in the pipeline. We do know that Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be a timed exclusive.

Whether or not Square will actually use these assets in the final game has yet to be seen, but it’s curious that the programmers from Square Enix would leave assets in a packaged intended to be distributed as a demo.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is set to be released on March 3, 2020.