Sorry, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Won’t Have Chocobo Breeding [IGN]

The most recent trailer for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth gave us a good look at a lot of different activities involving chocobo: riding, climbing, and Gold Saucer races. And while IGN has learned that chocobo breeding is out of the question, it sounds like there’ll be plenty else to do with the goofy rideable birds in Rebirth.

Speaking to IGN in an interview, director Naoki Hamaguchi unfortunately confirmed that there’s no chocobo breeding system in Rebirth. But there will be plenty of chocobos just in general. Cloud and his buds will be able to use them to climb cliffs and reach new areas that are unaccessible by walking. And even though breeding is out of the question, he adds that there’s an “enhanced new chocobo capturing feature” that can be used to acquire chocobo in the first place.

And then, of course, there’s chocobo racing at the Gold Saucer:

“For the Rebirth chocobos, each of them has their own unique name and they are able to enter the Gold Saucer races. There’s also equipment that is specifically designed for chocobos to equip that will enhance their stats and it will affect their performance in chocobo races…There are several race tracks that are available and just within the chocobo racing contest, there’s many varied courses that one could challenge. So, in terms of play hours that can be devoted, it’s quite, you know, copious amounts of hours that one could spend on chocobo racing.”

Hamaguchi also responded to IGN pointing out that Red XIII looked a little uncomfortable riding a chocobo in the trailer, saying that how he would ride was “very discussed amongst ourselves and we kind of settled upon Nomura-san’s idea of how he should be riding the Chocobo.”

“And we really think that this combines both of the comical elements that alongside the serious plotline, that really represents Final Fantasy 7 series, and I’m really happy to see that this was really picked up in the trailer as well,” he added.

We recently saw a major new trailer reveal for Rebirth that included its release date of February 29, 2024. And we also got a look at Cait Sith, the Gold Saucer, Vincent, Zack Fair, and a lot more. We also learned that it will feature 100 hours of content, including, you know that one scene. Rebirth is currently planned as a PS5-exclusive at launch, but that won’t last forever.

We also talked to Kitase and creative director Tetsuya Nomura about the appearance of Vincent Valentine in Rebirth, as well as the expanded role of Zack Fair. You can catch up on the full interview right here, and our preview of the game here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Additional reporting by Bo Moore.