When Square Enix confirmed that neither Vincent Valentine nor Cid Highwind would be playable in the sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, most weren't too worried. After all, it's not unreasonable to expect either if not both to formally join the party in a post-launch DLC, similar to Yuffie Kirasagi. Unfortunately, it appears that Creative Business Unit I wants to move on to the third and final game in the trilogy as soon as FF7 Rebirth comes out on February 29, 2024.
FF7's Creative Director, Tetsuya Nomura, confirmed this at the Tokyo Game Show, saying that there are no plans to release DLC content for FF7 Rebirth.
While this comes as a surprise after the success of the FF7 Remake re-release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X as well as the InterMISSION DLC, it makes sense.
Previously, we reported that Square Enix is using the decade-old video game engine, Unreal Engine 4, for FF7 Rebirth. This may not seem like the "best" idea in terms of visuals, but judging from the trailers we've seen so far, Square Enix is deserving of the benefit of the doubt. Also, this continuity in the engine means that Square Enix can reuse and improve assets from the first game, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, all the way through the finale. This helps the studio cut down on the development time, allowing it to release two entries in four years and possibly three in seven with minimal compromise.