Final Fantasy 7 developer Square Enix released a new PC version today, but players reported that the game is either broken or missing. Learn more about why its Steam reviews are "Mostly Negative."
FF7 Re-releases on Steam and GOG
Game Missing at Launch; High FPS Break Player Experience
Final Fantasy 7 (FF7) relaunched on PC to coincide with its GOG release earlier today. However, in the first few hours of its relaunch, several users reported the game missing from installation and clashing with the 3x speed update, rendering it unplayable.
Square Enix previously gave players a heads-up last January that the 2013 version of FF7 would be delisted on Steam and replaced. Nonetheless, despite promising "to provide an improved gameplay experience," the relaunch was immediately bombarded with negative feedback on Steam, with players citing a broken game that ran at thrice the normal speed by default. There were also multiple reports of installation issues due to missing game files, prompting players to note that the developers forgot to include the game itself in the relaunch.
Meanwhile, players who downloaded the game from GOG said they did not have the same problem, as it ran smoothly on their end.
Devs Fix Issues The Same Day
Approximately eight hours after FF7's Steam re-release, Square Enix addressed the abovementioned concerns with a patch fixing the speed in battles and other scenes, as well as addressing minor bugs.
The recent FF7 upgrade on PC now puts it on equal footing with its counterparts on PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile, ending the much older port it had been rehashing from its original 1997 version on PlayStation.
The Final Fantasy and JRPG communities are currently advising one another to opt out of mods while waiting for modders to catch up on the latest release. Nonetheless, they also assure that mod support will not break on the 2013 version itself.
Final Fantasy 7 is available on PC via Steam for $11.99 and GOG at 60% off for $4.79. Owners of the 2013 Edition on Steam can get it for free. The upgraded version received no story alterations, while new features have been integrated.
According to an official post on FF7's Steam page, the new version includes a 3x speed mode, the ability to turn off battle encounters, a battle enhancement mode to recover HP/MP, and an autosave feature. Moreover, 2013 Edition owners can still access the older version in their Steam Library, now labelled as Final Fantasy VII (2013), though save data cannot be transferred between the two versions.
On the topic of modern Final Fantasy titles, FF7 is being reimagined into three expansive remakes. Final Fantasy 7 Remake was first released in 2020 and is playable on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. The second entry released in 2024, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, is available on PS5 and PC, with Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S ports arriving on June 3 this year.
The unnamed third game in the FF7 remake trilogy is still in production. Earlier in February, game director Naoki Hamaguchi teased that they "plan to share more updates on the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Project than ever before." In addition to the remastered FF7 on PC and FF7 Rebirth getting more console ports, Square Enix appears to be hyping up the fans ahead of the last remake entry—and for an ending they described as "will be loved by everyone."
Sources:
X/Twitter | The original Final Fantasy VII will be re‑released on Steam
X/Twitter | Naoki Hamaguchi status
Steam | FINAL FANTASY VII Re‑Released on Steam!
Steam | Release Notes
GOG | Final Fantasy VII
Reddit | [Final Fantasy VII] New version of the original 2013 release is out for PC
