Traditionally, the time around New Year’s Eve/Day is fairly quiet in Japan. A lot of businesses are closed and corporate social media messaging dies down.
However, this holiday season, Square Enix was rocked with massive leaks for their upcoming anticipated release, Final Fantasy VII Remake. The entire upcoming playable demo was hacked through the PlayStation Network, which led to not only the gameplay from the demo leaking online, but massive spoilers for the entire game being reported.
Through all of this, the official social media accounts for Final Fantasy VII Remake have been silent as the grave. But again, this is not uncommon for that time of year.
When everyone returned to work on Monday, January 6, gamers everywhere were keeping their eyes peeled to see if Square would have some kind of statement to give on the leaks and spoilers. Square was silent all day Monday. On Tuesday, January 7, they broke their silence, but continued on as if nothing had happened.
Shinra Electric Power Company's headquarters is this towering, 70-story skyscraper in the center of Midgar.
The latest technology is on display here, and you can also find the offices of President Shinra and the directors. #FF7R pic.twitter.com/TmKaUyR6am
— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) January 7, 2020
As you can see in the tweet above, rather than dignify the leaks with an official response, Square released a series of previously seen screenshots showcasing the Shinra building, one of the most iconic locations from the original 1997 release of Final Fantasy VII.
It makes sense for Square to ignore the leaks and spoilers, as it takes away from their marketing for the game, which is due out in less than two months. Many of the spoilers, which will not be mentioned specifically here, unveiled a lot of sensitive information that Square was likely going to use for marketing announcements leading up to the game’s release.
To respond directly to the leaks would have only served to pile more attention onto them. By continuing in a “business as usual” style, Square is letting the story die, drawing attention away from this huge breach in their security and trying to get gamers to focus on the positives. The less Square says about the hack and subsequent leak, the better it could ultimately be for this release.
The leaks occurred when hackers discovered the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo hidden on the PlayStation Network. After hacking into the files, they discovered scores of information hidden within. Soon after, the demo started appearing on YouTube and major spoilers for the game began to make the rounds.
Final Fantasy VII Remake releases on March 3, 2020 on the PlayStation 4 console. It is a full remake of the original PlayStation 1 classic RPG. The demo has not been officially acknowledged by Sony or Square Enix, and no official announcement has been made regarding when or if it will still come out before the game.
