Final Fantasy VII Revelation will include an optional feature that can automatically raise the player’s party to the recommended story level, giving those who skip side content a way to continue the main campaign without grinding. Director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed the system during IGN’s Tokyo Game Show 2026 livestream, explaining that it was created in response to feedback from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth players. The option is intended specifically for players who want a more focused, story-driven experience.
Hamaguchi said some Rebirth players concentrated almost entirely on the main storyline and avoided much of its optional open-world content. Because those activities also contribute experience and progression, some players eventually found themselves underleveled for later story encounters. Revelation will address that situation by presenting an option at a certain point in the campaign asking whether the player wants their characters automatically raised to the recommended level.
Using the feature will be entirely optional. Players who want to explore Revelation’s world, complete side quests and level naturally can continue doing so without the game automatically changing their progression. The system instead gives players another route through what Square Enix has repeatedly described as an even larger and more flexible final installment.
The approach also reflects one of Hamaguchi’s broader goals for Revelation: accommodating players who preferred the relatively linear structure of Final Fantasy VII Remake over the much larger open areas introduced in Rebirth. By allowing players to bypass optional activities without becoming mechanically disadvantaged, Revelation can provide a more direct campaign path while still retaining its expanded world for those who want to explore it.
That distinction is particularly relevant because Revelation is not reducing its optional content. Hamaguchi has said the game contains roughly as much material as Rebirth in a single playthrough, while additional branching content means players will not necessarily see everything in one run. The director has also emphasized that Revelation gives players more control over which activities they pursue rather than expecting everyone to complete the same checklist.
Recent hands-on impressions have already demonstrated that scale. The Tokyo Game Show demo begins several hours into the campaign and features areas where certain quests are gated behind level requirements, deliberately showing players that additional content exists beyond the immediate story route. At the same time, Revelation’s TGS demo introduced playable Vincent and Cid, along with the new FITS System and exploration through the Whirlwind Maze.
The automatic leveling option therefore appears less like a traditional difficulty setting and more like a progression safeguard. Rather than weakening individual enemies or changing combat rules, it can bring the party up to the level expected by the main story when a player has deliberately avoided optional progression. Square Enix has not yet detailed exactly when the prompt appears, whether it can be used more than once, or how it interacts with other character progression systems.
Revelation is the third and final entry in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. The game will conclude the storyline that began with Final Fantasy VII Remake in 2020 and continued with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, while again expanding and rearranging elements from the 1997 original. Hamaguchi has said the final game will preserve major original events while allowing the development team to adjust their sequence when necessary.
Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches April 8, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. The new auto-level option gives players who primarily want to follow Cloud and the party’s main story a way to do so without being forced into side activities simply to maintain the level curve.
