The future of physical video games has become a hot topic in recent weeks after Sony announced it was ending production of new discs in 2028 and Rockstar confirmed Grand Theft Auto 6 is skipping discs altogether when it launches in November. This explains why Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi was recently asked if the upcoming finale, slated for next year, will get a physical release. And it sounds like it probably will, but Hamaguchi isn’t sure if discs are sticking around for long.

During an interview with GamesRadar at Final Fantasy 14 FanFest, Hamaguchi was asked about the shift to digital, his thoughts and feelings on physical editions, and if he could confirm FF7 Remake’s final entry, Revelation, will receive a physical release in 2027.

“We’re still having internal discussions on what the exact SKU product lineup is going to be for Revelation,” said Hamaguchi, “so I can’t say anything particularly definitive at this point in time. But I am working to make the arrangements to allow us to have some kind of physical edition.”

Not exactly the most promising answer for fans who prefer owning games on disc. It is also disappointing to think FF7 Revelation could skip a physical release considering FF7 Remake and Rebirth shipped on multiple discs that didn’t need large online updates to work. But perhaps it’s just too early to confirm something as simple as Revelation will ship on a disc.

As for the future of physical releases in general, Hamaguchi is optimistic that “there will always be some kind of physical or packaged edition,” but it might not be discs.

“Maybe you’ll have a box with the code inside it,” suggested Hamaguchi. “Or maybe key cards like Nintendo’s doing, or a boot disc or something. I feel like there’ll always be something, and I hope there will be.”

“I do feel, as a developer and as a fan, that the general trend is for things to shift away from physical towards downloadable games. But that’s obviously talking about the trend. Personally, here at something like Fan Fest or at community events for games that I’ve worked on, I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs. I think that’s lovely. I think it’s a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain.”

It is interesting to note that Hamaguchi’s philosophy on physical releases doesn’t seem to be that games have to ship on a disc that is playable offline, but instead, he is open to codes included in a box or game key cards. That adds a new wrinkle to his answer about FF7 Revelation’s physical release. He might be pushing for one, but what will it look like?

Kotaku has reached out to Square Enix for clarification.

For now, Hamaguchi says that Square Enix is having discussions internally about which “format is actually going to be best for the game” and each platform’s “specific rules and regulations”

“These are the discussions that we’re having at this point in time. I do hope that we’ll be able to come up with something that is as close as possible to what players and fans are going to want, but you’ll have to look forward to future announcements for that.”

Hamaguchi, seemingly aware that his answer might raise some eyebrows, laughed and told the outlet: “If you publish this, and then we announce all the products later, and there is no physical edition, then they’re going to rip me to pieces.”