Patch 8.0 - How long is too long to wait?

[Hyperia]

With rumors about the release date being discussed, how long is too long for all of you to wait for 8.0? Some people are saying it will be 2.5 years from 7.0 release and others are saying 3 years.

For me, if patch 7.5 lands in April of 2026 and then they wait until summer of 2027, that’s my red line. They must get 8.0 out on or before December of 2026 or there will be mass “retirements” in my opinion.

[ASkellington]

For me personally it doesn't matter when exactly 8.0 comes out. It could be late 2026, early 2027 or even the end of this year for all I care.

Its still 3 expansions late imo.

[Jeeqbit]

My expectation is simply 2.5 years because that has been the case for the last 2 expansions. I'm expecting it in early 2027. Might be off slightly due to national holidays, but:

7.4 is probably Dec 23rd 2025
7.5 is probably May 5th 2026
8.0 is probably Jan 26th 2027

Which about aligns with the Fanfest timing we got before Dawntrail, where the NA Fanfest was roughly 11 months prior to release. Expecting the Fanfest around 27th February - 2nd March 2026

I think it would be unworkable to delay it until July 2027. That would be a patch gap of over a year between 7.5 and 8.0. I mean they could and people would just return then but it wouldn't make sense when they pride themselves on their consistent schedule.

[Enkidoh]

If the normal process is followed, it will be around October sometime the next expansion is first revealed, the final main content patch (in this case, 7.55) will go live around March next year, and sometime mid next year the expansion will actually launch; probably June or July (EW was an exception due to the chaos and delays caused by COVID). This is how things have usually been handled, and because DT stuck to that too, I see no reason 8.0 will not be the same.

[Jeeqbit]

If the normal process is followed, it will be around October sometime the next expansion is first revealed, the final main content patch (in this case, 7.55) will go live around March next year, and sometime mid next year the expansion will actually launch; probably June or July (EW was an exception due to the chaos and delays caused by COVID). This is how things have usually been handled, and because DT stuck to that too, I see no reason 8.0 will not be the same.

Dawntrail didn't return to normal at all. Dawntrail also had around an 8-9 month gap between the .5 patch and the expansion, just like Endwalker did. They repeated the long delay that Endwalker release had.

The precedent for two expansions running is 2.5 years between expansions, whereas it used to be 2 years.

• Shadowbringers released June 2019.
• Endwalker released December 2021, 2.5 years later.
• Dawntrail released July 2024, 2.5 years later.
• Logic is thus 8.0 is around December 2026 or January 2027.

[Kacho_Nacho]

Dawntrail didn't return to normal at all. Dawntrail also had around an 8-9 month gap between the .5 patch and the expansion, just like Endwalker did. They repeated the long delay that Endwalker release had.

The precedent for two expansions running is 2.5 years between expansions, whereas it used to be 2 years.

• Shadowbringers released June 2019.
• Endwalker released December 2021, 2.5 years later.
• Dawntrail released July 2024, 2.5 years later.
• Logic is thus 8.0 is around December 2026 or January 2027.

That's my estimate as well. I'll be surprised if it wasn't released during the holiday season of 2026 in order to increase sales.

[TeresaFortell]

It wouldn't be like that. I think most have already gotten accustomed to the long patch cycles. There will still be people clutching onto subs for their houses, raids, and many other activities.

[Shinku_Tachi]

Pushing it into 2027 would be too long, period.

Precedent, current patch cycle length, history of the wait getting longer and longer, “Yoshi-P said blah-blah-blah” doesn’t change that.

[Wyssahtyn]

the moment the director started selling 8.0 as the job adjustment expac, it was too late. also feel like im getting gaslit every time someone starts raving about the so called "enhanced encounter design" shown so far during this expac too. if mechanics coming out slightly faster is all it takes to impress someone then small wonder this game is so cooked.

[Auro_Seldaris]

the moment the director started selling 8.0 as the job adjustment expac, it was too late. also feel like im getting gaslit every time someone starts raving about the so called "enhanced encounter design" shown so far during this expac too. if mechanics coming out slightly faster is all it takes to impress someone then small wonder this game is so cooked.

I've said before that all their "improved encounter design" amounts to is just "make fight go faster". Because that's all they know how to do. So they ruined BLM for... this George Lucas-tier "faster and with more intensity" slop. I'm not really surprised that all it takes to impress most players is "make fight go faster" though. DON'T THINK JUST DO MECHANIC AND GET HYPE FOR NEXT MECHANIC! If you want to just make this a damn twitch-reflexes game just get off the fence and do it. Oh wait, your shit netcode doesn't allow for snappy gameplay. I'm so done with this dev team.

EDIT: I mean, seriously, I just watched the new Trial on Youtube. There's literally nothing in that fight that warrants what they did to BLM. Nothing. I predicted and could have tapdanced around every mechanic in that trial without even breaking a sweat with the tools BLM had before the senseless job changes. Hell, I'd argue things like Hades Normal/EX were harder than [REDACTED, but c'mon you all know who it is]. I can't imagine that the EX is SO much harder that it would require the ability to tapdance around for 5 minutes as a caster. Seriously, this dev team sucks.

Just like Blizzard was struggling to recruit, SE has said the same in the Famitsu interview recently.

Yes, and as bad as it was for Blizzard, they at least conduct business in what is the de facto lingua franca, English. SE also piles on the ridiculous secondary expectation of "also be a fluent Japanese speaker".