New Playable Content, FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Trilogy Crossover Raid Series, Nintendo Switch™ 2 Version Release Date and More Announced at FAN FESTIVAL 2026 in Berlin Keynote Address

SQUARE ENIXⓇ revealed brand-new information about Evercold, the sixth expansion for its critically acclaimed MMORPG FINAL FANTASY XIV Online, set to launch in January 2027 alongside new playable content, a FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Trilogy crossover raid series, the Nintendo Switch 2 version release date and more.

An extended teaser trailer for Evercold was also revealed, providing a glimpse into the world of the Fourth and the adventures that await the Warrior of Light in the start of the Goddless Realms Saga story arc. The extended Evercold teaser trailer is available at: https://youtu.be/99uyS9WCV38

During the Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin keynote address, Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida revealed the first new job coming to Evercold: Bastion—a main tank that wields a pair of greatshields known as skyltborg—and unveiled a trailer showcasing the new job in action.

View the Bastion job trailer at: https://youtu.be/uaZlrprwSq4

Details were also shared on several new features coming to Evercold, including changes to the narrative structure that will be implemented for the main scenario, field, and game system, allowing players more freedom to choose what area they complete first between various paths in the main scenario. Through Auto Content Balancing, difficulty scaling and enemy levels will adjust to the appropriate player level as they play through dungeons in their chosen order. Additionally, a first look was provided for Character Action Skins, a feature that lets players assign alternate animations to personalize existing General actions, such as Teleport and Warp, with support for additional skins such as job actions arriving in future updates. Character customization will also be expanded so players have more ways to make their character stand out, including a greater range of color options with the new color picker, the ability to fine-tune features such as eyes and lips, new elements such as eye shadow, and more.

Following the reveal of the EVANGELION - Ghosts of Desire alliance raid series in April, Yoshida unveiled a new teaser trailer and announced that acclaimed director and animator Mahiro Maeda will join the project as a special guest artist and designer. Throughout his career, Maeda has contributed to numerous acclaimed projects, including “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) as a concept artist and designer, and “EVANGELION:3.0 +1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME” (2021), where he served as director, concept art director, storyboard artist, art setting designer and key animator.
The new teaser trailer can be viewed https://youtu.be/ecjI-T1zP-o

Joined on stage by FINAL FANTASY VII Remake series Director Naoki Hamaguchi, Yoshida also revealed “Beyond the Lifestream,” a new FINAL FANTASY VII-themed 8-player raid series that players will challenge in Evercold. Both development teams are working closely together to create an exciting new raid experience for players.

Further, FINAL FANTASY XIV will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, with pre-orders starting today on Nintendo eShop. To ensure server stability, there will be an approximately one-month free subscription period on Nintendo Switch 2. Whether beginning with the Free Trial, starting their adventure with the Starter Edition, or diving into the full story and experience with the Complete Edition, more players than ever before will soon be able to join together in the vast world of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

More details are available at: https://sqex.to/Q0D06

An outline of the content reveals from the keynote address can be found below:

New Job: Bastion, a main tank wielding two greatshields known as skyltborg

New Areas in the Icebound Realm of the Fourth: Naglfar, the Realmship of Water; Hringhorni, the Realmship of Fire; and Fargarth, a new city

New Raid Series: Beyond the Lifestream - a crossover with the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake trilogy

New EVANGELION - Ghosts of Desire Teaser Trailer

Chocobo Companion System Overhaul – Patch 8.1: Beginning with Patch 8.1, Expansive updates to chocobo companions, including an overhaul of the chocobo raising system, as well as the ability to call forth your chocobo to assist you in dungeons

Nintendo Switch 2 Version: Available for pre-order now; the Free Trial, Starter Edition, Complete Edition, and Dawntrail will launch on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026

Same-Region Player Matching – Patch 7.5x: Matchmaking will expand across entire physical data centers rather than being limited by logical data centers, beginning with Japan in mid-October and North America and Europe to follow

New Gold Saucer Mini-game: Keybound Brawler: a FINAL FANTASY VII-themed typing mini-game that can be played with up to four players arriving on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026

Finally, Yoshida revealed the Evercold Collector's Bundle, which includes a collection of physical items: the Evercold Special Art Box, Expertly Crafted Reaper Figure, Ethos Metal Keychain, Köttr Mini Plush, and Tapestry of the Fourth. Also included is the digital Collector's Edition, featuring three in-game items: the Crystal Skyltborg bastion weapon, Vallhallar Odin mount, and Entreat Crystal emote. More information regarding availability and pre-orders will be announced in the future.

For more information and the latest updates on Evercold, please visit the teaser site at: https://sqex.to/LtSxV

The keynote presentation (English language supported) is available to view on YouTube via the Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin Day 1 live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0L5kqKlGcQ

FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin continues through Sunday, July 26. Fans at home can enjoy the stage content live on Twitch and YouTube as well as purchase a range of new in-game items commemorating the event from the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Store. The commemorative items are also available at a discounted price until Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Additionally, both the piano and THE PRIMALS concerts are available as a paid stream until Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Patch 7.55 will also be releasing on Tuesday, July 28, bringing players more updates, with new Occult Crescent, Phantom Weapons, Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures, and Allied Society quests. More information is available on the official Patch 7.5 promotional site at: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/dawntrail/patch_7_5/

With more than 30 million total registered players, there has never been a better time for newcomers to begin their adventures in the critically acclaimed FINAL FANTASY XIV Online saga. The Free Trial now contains all content from A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers expansions up through patch 5.58. Free Trial players can enjoy hundreds of hours of award-winning gameplay and story experiences equivalent to four full FINAL FANTASY titles, without limit on playtime. More information can be found at: http://sqex.to/FFXIVFreeTrial

The content and specifications listed are subject to change without notice.