Final Fantasy VII Remake copies shipping out early in some regions

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there's been a lot of uncertainty regarding the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. The game is still launching on April 10th, but Square Enix has shared multiple updates discussing the shipment of physical copies of the title. As you might imagine, the coronavirus outbreak might make it difficult for Square Enix to get copies to players on time.

That was the expectation the company set a couple of weeks ago, at any rate. "With the unforeseeable changes in the distribution and retail landscape which varies across countries, it is increasingly likely that some of you will not get hold of your copy of the game on the release date," the company said on March 18th.

Today, it offered a more encouraging statement, confirming that some buyers may get their copy of the game earlier than expected. "We had some hard decisions to make during the final few weeks before launch due to the disruption to distribution channels caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus," Square Enix wrote on Twitter today. "These unique circumstances have made it very difficult to align timing of our global shipping."

"Our highest priority is that all of you, including those who live in countries currently facing the biggest disruption, can play the game at launch, so we made the decision to ship the game far earlier than usual to Europe and Australia."

With that in mind, Square Enix says that some people in those regions will likely get the game ahead of its April 10th release. Here in the US, Square Enix says that copies are being shipped this week, so it's confident that buyers in the Americas will get their game in time for release day.

If you do wind up getting Final Fantasy VII Remake before April 10th, Square Enix asks that you don't spoil the game for others who might still be waiting on their copy. Though the main arc in Final Fantasy VII is well-known by now, Square Enix points out that Final Fantasy VII Remake is "a new game that still has many surprises for everyone." So, if you get the game ahead of time, don't go onto social media and blab about all of the cool stuff in it.

We'll see what happens from here, but it sounds quite possible that some in Europe and Australia will be getting their copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake early. Stay tuned, because we'll update you if Square Enix shares more.