During Final Fantasy XIV’s (FFXIV) Fan Festival in Anaheim, California, the keynote address announced its latest expansion, Final Fantasy XIV Evercold. After playing the new expansion’s teaser trailer, Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) came on stage to share more about Evercold and what players can expect in the time we have to wait before launch in 2027.
And who will be waiting? Well, Yoshi-P shared that the total number of active accounts has increased to 35 million since Dantrail’s launch.
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What we know about FFXIV Evercold so far
The news comes after the 2023’s 7.0 Patch and expansion, Dawntrail. With a dedicated fanbase, Dawntrail marked a transition point from the Hydaelyn and Zodiarc saga that ended with 6.0’s Endwalker. Evercold marks the start of the new era of FFXIV with the Godless Realms Saga.
With the Japanese title loosely translating to Wanderer, as explained by Michael Koji Fox, who that is, is something for players to discover.
Currently on Patch 7.5, fans will only have to wait nine months for the next chapter in FFXIV. On stage, Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) confirmed that 7.5 marks the turning point in the current game and will mark the beginning of the Main Scenario Questline that moves players towards Evercold for its January 2027 release.
Evercold will also feature new system requirement updates for players. This also means that players currently playing on PlayStation 4 will remain supported at Patch 8.0’s launch. However, the MMO is approaching the PS4’s hardware data limit, which means players will have to accept the console’s eventual depreciation. That said, players will have time to move to the PlayStation 5 or PC through Patch 8.3.
The Evercold Zones
During the keynote, Yoshi-P also teased new areas that Warriors of Light will get to explore. This cold expansion moves away from the tech-focused areas of Living Memory toward a more organic, traditional European Fantasy-focused aesthetic.
More specifically, the cities we saw during the keynote look closer to Middle-earth’s Rivendell. As Toshi-P dove into the concept art’s architecture, it’s clear that Tolkien’s world has inspired what we see in Peter Jackson’s rendition of Minas Tirith. As more of the art was shared, it became clear that not all of it would be organic, as the machinery of a red-and-black tower was revealed.
As the concept art continued, Yoshi-P continued to highlight the elven-inspired fantasy world that players can expect in Evercold.
The Evercold Antagonist
Showcasing the Arcane Giants, the colossi will serve as the game’s antagonists. Though we do not have any specifics, Yoshi-P teased what is to come.
Evercold is bringing a new race too
FFXIV is adding even more to the cat races! Joining the Hrothgar and Miqo’te, the concept art for a new cat race, which we will call a lil’ guy for now, was also revealed during the keynote. However, we haven’t been given an official name for the race. Additionally, Yoshi-P teased that this cute lil’ guy isn’t the only new race being added in Evercold.
Berlin’s Fan Fest will feature more concrete updates about Evercold’s areas.
New Evercold Jobs
Yoshi-P announced the introduction of two new jobs. For the Tanks who have felt neglected, Evercold will be introducing both a Tank and DPS jobs. Both jobs will be entirely new and original to FFXIV and not inspired by legacy jobs from Final Fantasy XIV. Additionally, the level cap will be raised to 110, as expected.
New Job Systems: Reborn and Evolved
Patch 8.0 is also overhauling the existing job system. With 21 jobs (and one limited job currently, which will be two with the addition of Beast Master), and a system that has not been substantially adjusted since A Realm Reborn. The new job system adjustment will be the splitting of systems into two.
The current job system will continue as a Reborn Mode. This is what players know and have had before, which will feature very few changes. However, Evolved Mode will be a brand-new mode designed for players looking for a simpler rotation. The rotations will have fewer inputs and will differ from Reborn mode.
The crowd, which was excited at first, was excited again when the game switched to simplified schemes, which came from the game’s expansion on console. However, when Evolved Mode was explained, it was hard to hear excitement in the crowd.
The introduction of the two modes will make jobs feel completely different to the player. It’s easy to see how the developers believe that this will offer a way to fight fatigue, but in simplifying the modes, it’s hard to see where the players who have been craving more challenge and engagement in their raids. The announcement that also got a groan from the crowd came when Yoshi-P announced that all new jobs will only feature evolved modes.
Evolving Treasure Hunts, Fates, and The Hunts
While all three, Evolving Treasure Hunts, Fates, and The Hunts, are expected, Yoshi-P explained that these will have significant updates. Treasure Hunts will have new mechanics, and Fates and Hunts will focus on becoming more dynamic.
Watch the trailer for Evercold
FFXIV Game Design Updates
Square Enix has been dedicated to evolving and expanding the gameplay and design of their flagship MMO. And it’s continued to do this since Patch 7.5. During his keynote address, Yoshi-P showed a slide with tomestones filling up to the brim. And after 13 years, the game director acknowledged that at this point in FFXIV’s 13-year journey, “fight fatigue” is a real focus.
The game design updates showcased in Patch 8.0 are adapting to reflect the changes in the gaming world. As have the lives of its players. This change comes through how adventurers manage their levels and gear.
Adventurer Activity Switches FFXIV from a daily to a weekly system
FFXIV will launch a new Adventurer Activity UI that showcases the player’s gear progress, level experience per activity, current level, and will switch daily rotations to a weekly format. This new UI will make it easier for players to view their missions, rewards, and savage gear all in one place, rendering third-party plugins to track these elements obsolete.
The switch to the weekly format is made to combat the grind of daily activities and help players manage their progression in one hub. The choice to move to a weekly format is made to stop the daily grind that makes players easily tap out due to fatigue.
Yoshi-P explained during the keynote that this shift will also allow players to use the Adventure Activity tracker to better track their Missions and weekly progression with ease, and allow players to have more breaks, allowing players the agency to design their in-game schedule around their real-world schedule.
The lynchpin in this shift is that players will be able to earn unearned tomes from previous time-restricted tome cycles, making it less crucial to log in every day to stay on top of progression. More details on these progression changes will be available in the Tokyo Fan Fest.
FFXIV is adding Seasons
Taking a cue from existing live-service models, Evercold will bring in Seasons. But don’t worry, the audible groan in the audience when Seasons was announced quickly turned to cheers when Yoshi-P announced that there would be no increased prices, microtransactions, or Battlepasses to increase player costs.
Instead, the shift to Season terminology is being done to better capture the patch cycle and move away from the language that doesn’t allow the Patches to be viewed as a whole in two stages. As Yoshi-P explained, each even and odd-numbered patch is released to build on the one before. This means that Seasons in FFXIV will be akin to Patch 7.0 and 7.1, marking one season in the game, instead of both patches being presented as separate and not linked together.
Character Focused Design Shift
Patch 8.0 will also mark a change in the game’s approach to menus and UI, moving toward the game presenting your warrior of light as the focus. Similar to how the game’s mobile game version looks, the new UI is just the start. Yoshi-P commented on players’ love of their avatar. What comes with that, though, is an overhaul of the Armory System, which has remained relatively unchanged for the game’s 13 years.
Job Changes
The new Armoury System Update isn’t changing the MMO’s unique approach to jobs and leveling. However, the item level, which is the barrier of entry into specific scenarios and raids, will no longer be tied to each set of job gear. Instead, your highest job item level will be reflected across classes.
This opens the door for players not looking to level all jobs to what is needed for raids. Instead, your main job will now allow you to switch to others when needed. A great example is for filling parties. Too often, running a raid would force players into achieving the item level for other jobs if they needed to switch to either help queue up for a party quicker or just adjust to meet the needs of their static or Free Company.
This player agency won’t eliminate those looking to min-max their characters and builds, but it does give freedom to those of us who play and aren’t looking to master every single class.
Character Creator Updates
The current character creator uses preset colors. However, now, a color picker for eye, hair, and skin tone is being introduced. This will allow players to use more colors and shades they haven’t been able to before. While this may seem like a small update to some, this will allow players to better match their own skintones, particularly those with darker skin, something that has been lacking in the game for the past 13 years.
The 8.0 patch series will also feature continued improvement of the Character Creator system, a welcome change compared to other MMOs like Black Desert Online, which features one of the genre’s most customizable creators.
Additionally, avatars will also be getting even more depth. 8.0 will also mark improved customization of eyes, lips, and the introduction of eye shadow and a new facepaint layering. While this again may not seem like a huge adjustment, the depth that is added to the character creator is massive for those who invest time in the creation process. This will allow more makeup options and let you use multiple face paintings at once.
Patch 8.0 is also introducing the ability to toggle gear on and off. When the announcement was made, the crowd roared with excitement. This will also allow players to turn off individual elements of a single piece of gear. Love the armor set’s design, but hate the weird feather attached to the end? Well, now, you can toggle those attachments off and on to better suit players’ style.
Expanding the multiplayer element of an MMO that has pushed toward solo-play
With public fields being underused, the MMO is building value to its existing world by following in the footsteps of MMOs like Fallout 76 and debuting a public event system that will happen in the world and push player engagement.
Additionally, the game will be adding a third level of difficulty to the existing eight-man raid structure. Outside of the announcement, Yoshi-P also shared that players will hear more of the specifics during the Berlin Fanfest later this year. This new difficulty does not increase the top-end difficulty; rather, it adds one step between the starting difficulty and the Extreme Trials.
But it’s not just trials; Alliance Raids will now have adjusted progression. Moving the 24-man raids into something more approachable. More information on this topic will come during Tokyo Fanfest.
Patch 7.5x Series News
April 28, 2026, will mark the release of Patch 7.5. Here is what to expect in the coming patch series.
Regional Party Matching Is Now available
The ability to switch between data centers was a long-awaited update in Dawntrial. And now, in Patch 7.5, players will no longer be restricted to filling parties from a single datacenter.
Now, players will be matched based on regional location, not on the datacenter your character is on. This eliminates the need to shift between data centers to play with friends. The current plan for releasing this is to do so in stages, first in Japan, then in North America, Europe, and so on.
Dancing Mad (Ultimate)
In addition to Beastmaster coming in Patch 7.5, the keynote also shared a trailer for FFXIV’s new Ultimate – “Dancing Mad.” The teasers give players a look at the iconic Kefka raid, and also announced that Final Fantasy VI’s original designer will impact Dancing Mad (Ultimate).
Tetsuya Nomura also helped with the voice-acting direction for the Ultimate, giving Kefka fans the level of faithfulness they have come to expect from FFXIV.
Synchronizing Korean Version Patch Releases
Patch 7.4 brought the synchronization of Chinese and mobile versions; now, Korean players will be able to participate in the world’s first race with new raid releases.
Expansion of the free trial
Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial, you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning Shadowbringers expansion up to level 80 for free with no restrictions on playtime!
Everything Else!
Final Fantasy XIV Dates
Fan Fest Berlin will take place on July 25, 2026, and July 26, 2026. And Fan Fest Tokyo will take place on October 31, 2026, and November 1, 2026.
Final Fantasy XIV x Evangelion Collaboration
Currently titled, Ghosts of Desire, a series of raids will highlight the collaboration between the iconic Evangelion series and the game. Square Enix will be developing the collaboration series, and Evangelion’s studio, KHARA, will be producing the raid series. More information will come from Berlin and Tokyo.
Final Fantasy XIV Online on the Switch 2
While the mobile version of Final Fantasy XIV has been available, the one announcement that got the bulk of the auditorium on their feet was the news that FFXIV is coming to Nintendo Switch 2. Launching in August 2026, the rollout will be gradual.
This roadmap features a one-month Early Access period, during which players will have online fees waived, making it free while Square Enix works on server stability. However, while the existing payment structure has always allowed players to play on any device (PC and console) with a single monthly subscription fee and a single purchase of the game, the Switch version will push players to buy a new license for the Switch.
However, there will be no mandatory monthly subscription fee. Additionally, players who purchased the game on other platforms will have the chance to buy the Switch version of the game at 50% off.
Watch the Keynote Address
Final Fantasy XIV Evercold releases in January 2027 with Patch 7.5 launching April 28th.
