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
London (25th July, 2026) – SQUARE ENIX® today 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 at the start of the Godless Realms Saga story arc. The extended Evercold teaser trailer is available at:
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
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 here:
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, 4th August 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, 28th October 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, Valhallar 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:
FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin continues through Sunday, 26th July. 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, 12th August 2026. Additionally, both the piano and THE PRIMALS concerts are available as a paid stream until Sunday, 16th August 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
Related Links
Evercold Promotional Site: https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/evercold/
Official Player Site, The Lodestone: https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinalFantasyXIV
Official X: @FF_XIV_EN
Official Instagram: @ffxiv
Official Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/en.finalfantasyxiv.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ffxiv
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/finalfantasyxiv
#FFXIV
About EVANGELION
The television series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION became an immediate and widespread sensation upon its first broadcast in 1995.
In 2007, the series was relaunched as the Rebuild of EVANGELION film series. Conceived, written and directed by Hideaki Anno, EVANGELION:1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 were all hugely successful, captivating new fans and garnering much praise from a wide range of audiences.
The fourth and final film in the series, EVANGELION:3.0 +1.0, was released on March 8, 2021, after having been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It recorded 6.73 million admissions, earning 10.2 billion yen at the box office.
On March 8, 2023, the long-awaited Blu-ray and DVD, EVANGELION:3.0+1.11 THRICE UPON A TIME was released.
October 2025 marked 30 years since the television series debuted, and a celebratory event titled EVANGELION:30+; 30th ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGELION was held in Yokohama Arena between February 21 and 23, 2026. Though such an anniversary event was a first for the series, it proved to be a resounding success, attracting a great many visitors from Japan and around the world.
About FINAL FANTASY VII
First released in 1997 on the PlayStation® computer entertainment system, FINAL FANTASY VII will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2027. The game is universally regarded as a landmark title of the RPG genre. The original title received high praise for its epic storyline, unique characters, and movie sequences that utilized the most cutting-edge technology of the time. Since then, the game revolving around iconic hero Cloud Strife and his pursuit of the antagonist Sephiroth has sold over 15.7 million copies worldwide and continues to receive widespread acclaim from critics and fans around the world. The popular game has expanded into spin-offs, films and merchandise.
Now, Square Enix’s FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Series, created by a team of original and new developers, retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. The first game of the trilogy, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, is available for PS4® consoles. The expanded edition, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE, and the second entry, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, are now available for Nintendo Switch 2, XBOX Series X|S, XBOX PC, PS5® consoles and PC. FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION, the climactic conclusion of the series, will release for PS5 consoles, Nintendo Switch 2, XBOX Series X|S and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and XBOX PC, in Spring 2027.
About Square Enix Ltd.
Ranked as the #1 Publisher of the Year in 2025 by Metacritic.
Square Enix Ltd. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX® and TAITO® branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix group of companies. The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY™, which has sold over 212 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 97 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found at https://square-enix-games.com
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