Gab Hernandez 
Square Enix is set to lift the review embargo on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth at an early date, suggesting that the publisher is highly confident in the game’s quality.
The highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth arrives at the tail-end of February, and the hype from fans continues to soar. Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a critical and commercial success, affirming Square Enix’s plan to turn the classic RPG into a trilogy. Square Enix seems to believe that its sequel will be just as much of a hit.
A review embargo is a date and time set by a game’s publisher for when reviewers with early access to review copies can actually publish their story on the games. Some strategic moves are made by the publishers when it comes to this, allowing them to have a degree of control over what impact reviews will have on sales. Oftentimes if a publisher expects a game to receive middling or poor reviews, embargoes lift closer to its release date. That’s why Square Enix’s decision for an early lift of its embargo is interesting.
When is Square Enix lifting its review embargo on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
The review embargo for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will lift on February 22 at 9 am ET.
Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming reports that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s embargo will lift much earlier than anticipated. For context, Square Enix lifted the Final Fantasy 7 Remake embargo half a week before its release date. Final Fantasy 16 saw its embargo lifted a day before its launch. Both games received very strong reviews.
An early embargo lift suggests a lot of confidence on Square Enix’s part. This applies both to the game’s quality as well as the state it will ship in. While day-one patches are commonplace and even AAA titles like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet can ship in rough states, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is seemingly polished.
Some fans even speculate that Square Enix is confident enough to believe it has a Game of the Year award contender. Santa Monica Studio broke its embargo on God of War: Ragnarok a week before its release. The acclaim and accolades that followed proved the studio’s confidence was well-founded.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth makes significant changes to the original story
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will expand and change the original game’s plot.
One of the biggest reasons to pick up Rebirth is the changes to the story. Iconic moments such as Aerith’s death or Vincent’s arrival may play out differently in Rebirth. The devs teased as much during a roundtable discussion with PlayStation while answering fan questions. Once the embargo lifts, the story’s quality might entice undecided fans to pick up Rebirth. Whether Square Enix’s gambit pays off remains to be seen.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth arrives exclusively on PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.
