It's Final Fantasy's Digital Fan Fest this weekend, and last night's streams brought a series of new details about Endwalker, Final Fantasy 14's next big expansion. Chief among them, the news that it will launch on November 23rd.
Hop below for an extremely melodramatic extended CG trailer.
Here's your PSA, Final Fantasy XIV fans: the 2021 Fan Festival kicks off this week, and it's going to bring a whole lot more information on what to expect from the MMORPG ahead of the launch of its big Endwalker expansion. The event takes place over two days, and there's quite a bit to keep track of - so here's what to pay special attention to during the show.
The Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest starts on Friday, May 14 at 6pm PDT / 9pm EDT, or May 15 at 2am GMT. The show will open with a keynote address where director Naoki Yoshia "reveals new information" - expect this to be the part where the biggest Endwalker features are discussed, including more details on the new Sage class and story content.
The other big event will be on day two: the next Letter from the Producer stream. This will take place on Saturday, May 15 at 6:50pm PDT / 9:50pm EDT, or May 16 at 2:50am GMT, and will feature a preview of patch 5.55, and a Q&A session with lead writer Natsuko Ishikawa.
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The Final Fantasy series is filled with mechanics and ideas that have been reused for decades, from the job system to crystals. One of its more obscure recurring motifs is the moon. Since the early '90s, Final Fantasy games have turned to the moon for everything from world-ending antagonists to cuddly new critters. Final Fantasy XIV's new expansion, Endwalker, continues the series' lunar fixation, taking players to the surface of the moon as it wraps the free MMO's nearly decade-long story arc. Fan theories abound as to what to expect when the Endwalker release date arrives, and we think past uses of the moon could provide some clues.
Before we kick off, it's worth noting that there are some major story spoilers for a bunch of games in the series, including Final Fantasy IV, VIII, IX, XI, XIV, and XV. So read on with caution.
The first proper use of the moon is in Final Fantasy IV, which establishes the existence of a second, red moon with a race of moon folk called the Lunarians. As well as Lunarians, the moon is home to a rabbit-like race known as the Hummingway and is also the resting place of Bahamut, Lord of the Eidolons.
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Square Enix has poured cold water over reports that multiple parties are currently and actively looking to acquire it. The company posted a short, to-the-point post on its investor relations website explaining that it isn't considering selling off the company or even part of its business, nor has it had any offers or invites to do so.
"Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix," the post reads. "However, this report is not based on any announcement by Square Enix. We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses."
As Square Enix's post alludes to, chatter began to swirl when Bloomberg reported that several buyers had shown interest in the company. Bloomberg's report points to a separate story from CTFN, which says that "Square Enix is said to have received recent [merger and acquisition] interest, according to two bankers following digital gaming deals".
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