2026 FanFests

[Curisu]

I just hope that the savage release is not during christmas, new years or easter.
Everything else I dont really care about.

If it get bored, I unsub.
But my guess would be January release of the next expansion.

[ZXN]

IF they keep to the current release schedule, then based on the predictable time frame of patch drops; 7.4 should drop around December, and then April SHOULD be around when 7.5 releases, with the ol 7.55 part 1 being in July/August and 7.55 part 2 being October/November, with 8.0 itself releasing around probably January/February 2027, with March/April 2027 being probably the absolute latest.

The dates don't really mean a whole lot other then just "Expected release dates" given the devs love their patterns with these things. If anything all this does do is help players prepare ahead of time for the expected "End of Expansion Drought" that'll come once 7.5 drops.

Granted: Beastmaster is coming in 7.5, and the second area for the Occult Crescent is coming in 7.55, so I suppose it's more that this helps players who don't have any interest in either of this things time to prepare themselves for the end of drought expansion.

[Kaurhz]

It's actually sad that my reaction is honestly struck between...

"LOL" and "I really don't care"

[SyferU]

I do not understand why people tie the time of the last fan fest to the start of the next expansion. what stops them from releasing the expansion a month after the last fan fest?
Wouldn't the better way to judge the 8.0 release date, be the time it usually takes between a X.5 patch and the next expansion? I think that would be around January 2027.

[xbahax92]

I dont know about the time gap between JP fanfest and expansion. 2 1/2 years or 3 years for next expansion.
But what we all can agree on, the expansion won't be before 1. November. They won't screw over their own home market and hold a JP fanfest after 8.0 launch.

[Aiyakiu]

Just throwing this out there, I don’t think the staff would have time to finish up the expansion and shove it out only a month after Fanfest.

[MicahZerrshia]

I realy wonder if this extended date is due to how bad Blizzard is making them look atm and them trying to do a similar course correction. Say what you want about WoW, but they really did take a step back, evaluate their situation and are going all in and making increasingly better changes, systems and content while SE is coasting on mostly glams and nostalgia at this point. Heck even the FFXI team is making the FFXIV team look kinda bad. I can feel real passion coming from the FFXI crew, where Yoshida and co. is just giving half hearted PR speak

[Jeeqbit]

I do not understand why people tie the time of the last fan fest to the start of the next expansion. what stops them from releasing the expansion a month after the last fan fest?

Fanfest's star attraction is to reveal what we are getting in the expansion. It's meant to be the draw that gets people to even watch it and not just, well, ignore the whole thing like they do with Duty Commenced etc. (Don't know what that is? If so, proves my point)

SE typically do a media tour before a game release, which takes a month due to the embargo and they can't do while attending or putting together a fanfest. There is generally at least a month gap thereafter before an expansion release. Overall, the best case scenario is late January or in February.

But we can't ignore the most likely scenario that these dates imply - May or June 2027.

[Hyperia]

The most important thing they can do is manage expectations on 8.0, a good trailer video AND a release date down to the month, not the season. The farther it gets from December 2026, the more subs will go dormant. If they say Summer of 2027, a significant amount of players will go into hibernation or retire. They are already having earnings stress so bad that they had to cut XIV’s budget by 50%, anything that makes the sub drop off worse must be avoided.

I have been subbed for over 4,250 days and I came to XIV when WOW had a 9 month gap. If they push to spring or summer of 27, I may let my house go and wait it out. All I have left to do is content as nearly all of my friends left after the DT launch. SE has to focus on those who stay all the time and not worry about the migratory players, they will come back when they come back.

[Shinku_Tachi]

I realy wonder if this extended date is due to how bad Blizzard is making them look atm and them trying to do a similar course correction. Say what you want about WoW, but they really did take a step back, evaluate their situation and are going all in and making increasingly better changes, systems and content while SE is coasting on mostly glams and nostalgia at this point. Heck even the FFXI team is making the FFXIV team look kinda bad. I can feel real passion coming from the FFXI crew, where Yoshida and co. is just giving half hearted PR speak

Excellent points!