Next month’s PS+ free copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake can’t be upgraded to the PS5

For March, PlayStation users admittedly have a pretty great suite of titles available for free on the PlayStation Plus subscription service, including Remnant: From the Ashes, Farpoint, Maquette, and Final Fantasy VII Remake. The inclusion of Final Fantasy VII Remake on that list is a pretty big deal — it’s been out less than a year, and the game’s PS5 upgrade was revealed during yesterday’s State of Play. However, that won’t matter much for anyone who picks up the game like this, as they won’t actually be able to upgrade the game to its PS5 version.

This is a real case of “you’ve gotta read the fine print.” In a little box showing what platform each game would be available on, there’s an annotation. It directs readers down towards the bottom left of the March monthly games announcement screen. The note corresponding with Final Fantasy VII Remake clearly states that “Playstation Plus members who redeemed Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4 version) as a PS Plus benefit are not eligible for a free PS5 upgrade.”

https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1365273440899522576

We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news in this instance. But, in all honesty, this decision makes sense. PlayStation just showed off the PS5 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake, and essentially giving that version away just a few days later would be, for lack of a better term, uncharacteristically charitable for Sony. 

The most unfortunate thing here is the timing, since many will assume the two announcements coincide with each other while they actually are at odds. Regardless, anyone who hasn’t played the Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4 yet is in for a treat.