Final Fantasy XIV Everwold & Switch 2 Release Dates

Square Enix used the 2026 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Berlin to lay out major plans for its next expansion, Everwold, including a January 2027 launch window and a first look at a new tank job. The publisher also confirmed the Nintendo Switch 2 release date for Final Fantasy XIV, bringing the MMO to the platform on August 4, 2026, and detailed a new 8-player raid themed around the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

Key dates and Switch 2 availability

Item	Date / Timing	Notes
Nintendo Switch 2 release	Tuesday, August 4, 2026	Free Trial, Starter Edition, Complete Edition, and Dawntrail launch together
Switch 2 pre-orders	Starting today	Pre-order availability announced for Nintendo eShop
Switch 2 free subscription	Approximately one month	Added to support server stability
New content in Evercold	January 2027	Expansion launch plus playable content
New Gold Saucer mini-game	Wednesday, October 28, 2026	Keybound Brawler (up to four players)

Everwold: January 2027 expansion brings a new tank and expanded story flexibility

As part of its keynote address at the Berlin fan event, producer and director Naoki Yoshida delivered an extended teaser for Everwold, the sixth expansion for Final Fantasy XIV Online. The trailer offers a preview of the Fourth’s Goddless Realms saga arc and what lies ahead for the Warrior of Light.

The first major job reveal for the expansion is Bastion, a new main tank that fights with two greatshields called skyltborg. Yoshida also showed a trailer demonstrating the job in action.

Everwold will also introduce several systems and content changes, including a new approach to narrative progression. Square Enix says the main scenario, field, and game system will be restructured so players can choose which areas they complete first across different paths in the story.

To match difficulty to player progress, the expansion adds Auto Content Balancing, which adjusts scaling and enemy levels based on the player’s level as they tackle dungeons in their selected order.

Cosmetics and character customization are also getting updates. Square Enix provided a first look at Character Action Skins, a feature that lets players assign alternate animations to existing General actions—specifically naming Teleport and Warp—with additional skins for job actions planned for future updates. The publisher also outlined expanded customization options, including a wider range of color choices with a new color picker, finer adjustments for features like eyes and lips, new elements such as eye shadow, and more ways to personalize appearances.

New Fourth areas and a crossover raid series: Beyond the Lifestream

Beyond the new job, Everwold is bringing new locations in the Icebound Realm of the Fourth. Square Enix confirmed three new areas/regions: Naglfar (the Realmship of Water), Hringhorni (the Realmship of Fire), and Fargarth, a new city.

For group content, Yoshida revealed a new raid series called Beyond the Lifestream, an 8-player crossover built around the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. Square Enix said both development teams are working closely together to shape the raid experience.

EVANGELION – Ghosts of Desire returns, with Mahiro Maeda joining

Yoshida also shared further details tied to the EVANGELION – Ghosts of Desire alliance raid series. After a teaser reveal earlier in April, the keynote included an updated teaser trailer and announced that acclaimed director and animator Mahiro Maeda will join as a special guest artist and designer.

Square Enix highlighted Maeda’s past work on multiple major projects, including concept artist and designer credits for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and broad creative roles for 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.

Other announced systems: chocobos, matchmaking, and a new Gold Saucer mini-game

Square Enix used the keynote to outline additional updates coming alongside the Everwold roadmap. Patch 8.1 will overhaul chocobo companions, including an expanded chocobo raising system and the ability to call your chocobo to assist you in dungeons.

For player finding, Same-Region Player Matching is arriving in Patch 7.5x. Matching will expand beyond logical data center limits and cover entire physical data centers, beginning with Japan in mid-October. North America and Europe are set to follow after that.

At the Gold Saucer, a new Final Fantasy 7-themed typing mini-game called Keybound Brawler is scheduled for release on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, with support for up to four players.

Nintendo Switch 2 editions and pricing confirmed

Square Enix confirmed that Final Fantasy XIV will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on August 4, 2026. Pre-orders open on Nintendo eShop starting today, with an approximately one-month free subscription period to help maintain server stability.

The company also provided pricing for Nintendo Switch 2 editions: