At Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023, Square Enix revealed the teaser trailer for the next FFXIV expansion, Dawntrail, in addition to bringing Xbox head Phil Spencer on stage to announce a digital-only Xbox Series X | S port of FFXIV. Dawntrail will launch in summer 2024 and take place in the “New World” of Tural, in what has been described as a “summer vacation.” Via sister site Siliconera, players will help the Scions to select a new ruler during a rite of succession, with the chosen person taking the throne “from Gulool Ja Ja, the Mamool Ja ruling the new city.”
FFXIV: Dawntrail will raise the level cap to 100, in addition to introducing two new jobs, a melee DPS and a ranged magic DPS. Additionally, patch 7.0 will bring a visual upgrade to the game, including revised lighting and textures. There is still a lot of information we don’t have yet, but this is a start. Siliconera has a few more nitty-gritty details to offer, but here’s a summary straight from Square Enix:
- Journey to the New World, Tural, and its capital, Tuliyollal
- Explore new areas, including the mountainous Urqopacha and the forest of Yak T’el
- New Allied Tribes, including the diminutive Pelupelu who wear distinctive masks and inhabit Urqopacha
- Level Cap increase from 90 to 100
- Multiple New Jobs
- Core Battle Content including FATEs, Hunts, Treasure Hunts and Sidequests
- New Dungeons
- New Threats, including Valigarmanda
- Duty Support Update
- New Gear and Recipes
- Expansive New Lifestyle Content
- New Variant Dungeons, Alliance Raid, 8-Player Raid and Ultimate Raid
The Xbox version of FFXIV will support 4K on Series X and faster load times in general, and an open beta is scheduled for spring 2024 alongside patch 6.5. It will feature crossplay with other versions of the game. (Otherwise, what’s the point?) It will be nice to have yet another way to play the game, and convenience is surely one of the major reasons for this port existing, as it’s unlikely there are millions of people who have refrained from playing this game strictly because it wasn’t on Xbox.
Additionally, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu promised greater support for Xbox in the future, saying, “(S)tarting with today’s announcement of Final Fantasy XIV coming in spring 2024, and whenever possible, we are planning to bring our games to Xbox for players around the world to enjoy.” We’ll see how much that actually pans out.
