Naoki Yoshida, aka Yoshi-P, made his second major stop at PAX East for a panel dedicated to Final Fantasy XIV’s next major expansion, Dawntrail. The beloved FFXIV director didn’t deliver new gameplay details, but it was a big morning nonetheless as the lid was finally lifted on several key dates, including an official Dawntrail release date of July 2, 2024.
Early access for Dawntrail begins a few days before the launch on June 28. And those who’d like to take part in that early access will need to preorder the game starting next week on March 26. Yoshi-P hilariously admitted that the team wanted early access to begin earlier, but decided players would need time to play the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC that releases that week.Elden Ring is the stratospheric hit developed by FromSoftware and released in 2022."Shadow of the Erdtree" is the award-winning game's first DLC offering.
“I’ll give you one week!” Yoshi-P declared jokingly through his translator.
And the big date announcements didn’t stop there. Remember that Final Fantasy XVI + Final Fantasy XIV collaboration event they announced would happen in early April during yesterday’s Final Fantasy XVI panel? Yoshi-P gave fans an official time window for the event of April 2 through May 8. He was mum on story details for the special event but promised players that the rewards for participating would be “robust.”
The remainder of the panel was dedicated to the various Dawntrail Collector’s Editions and the physical and in-game goodies buyers can look forward to. Here’s a look at all the Collector’s Edition and preorder bonuses, including the new Ark Mount revealed in a short trailer during the panel.
Collector's Edition Physical Items
Collector's Edition In-Game Items
Preorder Bonus In-Game Items
Officially, we are 101 days away from the release of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail. And while we’ve gotten a lot of information about the expansion via blog posts and Fan Fest announcements, even more details will be released leading up to the launch. Yoshi-P announced that a Dawntrail media tour begins in May, and we’ll be along for the ride as more information is released.
If you missed today's PAX East Final Fantasy XIV panel, you can catch the VoD on Twitch.