Final Fantasy VII Remake coronavirus "delay" blame spread by Square Enix

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck Final Fantasy VII Remake – but not in the way we expected. Square Enix shared a message that, at first, appeared to be like that of so many others shared in the past couple of weeks. It appeared as though Final Fantasy 7 (VII) Remake would be delayed thanks to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), but it wasn't – not by Square Enix' estimation, anyway. Not for everyone.

Square Enix suggested that their priority "is the wellbeing and safety of our fans and customers, taking into account regional government and World Health Organization advice." But, despite that, they said, "the worldwide release of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE on April 10 will go ahead." ...But not necessarily at the same speed as previous releases.

"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," wrote a Square Enix representative.

"We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis and working with our partners, retailers, and SQUARE ENIX teams across Europe and the Americas," wrote the Square Enix representative, "to do everything we can to ensure as many of you as possible can play the game on April 10."

So basically – good luck! If you absolutely positively must play Final Fantasy VII Remake on April 10, you'd better hope your game is delivered to your door that day. There's a distinct possibility you'll get the game late – and a very similarly bleak outlook for retail location sales given local and regional restrictions on human group gatherings.

Maybe now's the time to move to a download-centric lifestyle for games? Now might also be a great time to consider the whole Game Streaming Service model. What better way to jump in on the game without health concerns than to have no required contact with any human at any point in the process? Not that Final Fantasy VII Remake will exist on any platform other than PS4, but still.