Final Fantasy 7 Revelation May Rethink Rebirth’s Overloaded World Map
Director Naoki Hamaguchi said some players may have stopped playing after feeling pressured to complete mini-games for materia and other rewards.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth gave players a huge amount to do away from its main story, but director Naoki Hamaguchi recognized that the world map’s many side activities may have pushed some players away. As the team works on Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, that feedback appears to be informing how the next game handles optional content.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Hamaguchi said players may have grown tired of the amount of activity spread across Rebirth’s world map. He also suggested that this could have been the point where some players “stepped away” from the game.
The issue was not simply the number of side quests. Hamaguchi explained that rewards such as materia could make optional activities feel mandatory for players who wanted to collect those items. That could mean completing mini-games or other tasks they had little interest in playing.
Rebirth expanded well beyond the more focused Midgar setting of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Its broader regions offered plenty of reasons to visit different parts of the map, but the sheer volume of objectives could also turn the journey into a checklist. Even when new abilities and materia were waiting at the end, the path to those rewards was not always appealing.
Hamaguchi’s comments suggest that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation may take a more curated approach to its optional activities. That could mean fewer tasks, more variety between them, or rewards that do not make every mini-game feel like a required stop. The interview did not confirm specific changes, but it shows the team is paying attention to how Rebirth’s open-world structure affected players.
What did you think of Rebirth’s side content, and would you prefer a more focused world map in Revelation? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram.
