UK retailers including Game, Argos and ShopTo have shipped Final Fantasy VII Remake pre-orders a week before its official release date.
According to various customer reports, physical copies of thePS4exclusive began arriving as early as Wednesday this week.
GameandArgosare still accepting pre-orders for the title, although it’s not clear if they will also be shipped ahead of the official release date on Friday, April 10.ShopToclaims it will not receive moreFinal Fantasy VII Remakestock until April 8.
VGC has reached out for comment.
In Australia, retailers including EB Games and JB Hi-Fi have also broken the Final Fantasy VII Remake street date and are openly selling the game.
The early dispatch of copies follows publisherSquare Enix’s move to ship physical copies of the title early in Europe and Australia, in a bid to combat delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite many customers receiving their boxed copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake early, the game’s publisher says it is not planning to bring the digital release date forward.
O-oh… This came in the mail. That was unexpected <3Next Friday, 10th of April, the official release date - That is when this gets opened and streamed.Bless you,@SQUARE_ENIX_EUfor the way you’re handling the release. Means a lot to the people out there struggling.pic.twitter.com/U7Y0nQDEno
Good delivery day 😀pic.twitter.com/8SnR0J3w4X
“Changing the digital release date at this point-in-time could lead to logistical issues that could disrupt the digital launch for everyone,” it said on itssupport page. “Therefore, we will be adhering to an April 10 digital release date.”
Square Enix has asked those who receive copies of the game early not to spoil it for others, a message echoed by various retailers on their purchase pages.
“We had some hard decisions to make during the final few weeks before launches due to disruption to distribution channels caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus,”the company said last Thursday in a statementcredited to directorTetsuya Nomuraand producerYoshinori Kitase.
“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.
“As a result, there is a greater chance that some of you in these regions will now get a copy of the game prior to the worldwide release date of April 10.”
