News

Final Fantasy XIV Game's Stormblood Expansion Reveals Details, June 20 Launch

Square Enix announced at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2016 event in Tokyo on Saturday that the previously announced Stormblood expansion for the Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG will launch in Japan, North America, and Europe on June 20. Pre-orders start on January 24. Stormblood is the game's second expansion.

The event also revealed that the expansion will offer the new Red Mage job, and the ability to swim and dive. Additionally, Final Fantasy franchise composer Nobuo Uematsu is composing the theme song for the new expansion.

A collector's edition of the expansion will include a Syldra Mount, a wind-up Bartz minion, and a Red Mage Main Arm: Chicken Knife weapon.

The event also revealed a new high-level raid titled "The Bend of Time - Omega" for the game, and a new alliance raid titled "Return to Ivalice" (Ivalice is the name of the setting where the Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII, and Vagrant Story games take place).

Additionally, the "Letter from the Producer" livestream during the event revealed on Saturday that Final Fantasy XIV is getting a collaboration with the GARO franchise.

Square Enix also revealed that the game's Patch 3.5 will release in two parts on January 17 and in March.

Stormblood will feature Ala Mhigo as its backdrop, and the storyline will center on the city's liberation. XIIth Legion Legatus Zenos yae Galvus (pictured below), who is the ruler of the occupied city, serves as one of the enemies players will face.

The expansion will raise the level cap from 60 to 70, and will also add new jobs, new dungeons, new high-level raids, new alliance raids, and new gear. The expansion will also increase players' inventory size.

When Stormblood launches, Sony and Square Enix will stop support for the game for the PlayStation 3. The companies plan to launch an upgrade campaign that "will allow PS3 players to seamlessly join in the battle for Ala Mhigo at launch."

Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV Online for personal computers in September 2010. After criticism from fans, the company revealed an updated version of the game titled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn that added a new world and story. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launched on Windows PC and PS3 in August 2013, and then on PS4 in April 2014. Square Enix released the first expansion for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, titled Heavensward, in June 2015.

The game currently has more than 6 million players.

Source: Square Enix USA on Twitter