Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida shared his traditional New Year message on the official Lodestone website.
Following New Year wishes and a reflection on the state of the world, Yoshida-san mentions that 2026 will mark “an especially significant second step” in the new ten-year journey for the game.
He also added that the game must be able to change alongside the world, “reflecting the demands of an evolving market, as well as the ways you live and play.”
That being said, the development team is “fully committed to delivering new experiences and fresh surprises in the years ahead.”
Speaking of new experiences, we get the usual poem hinting to the content of the next expansion. While your guess is as good as mine, the theme appears to be seafaring or traveling beyond the sea.
Our past astern, we scan the sea
In search of that which yet may be
Frail playthings of the restless tide
Yet wind and wave shall be our guide
From the journal of a well-traveled young man
We also hear that patch 7.5 will follow “very closely” after the North American fanfest at the end of April.
On top of this, Yoshida-san also appeared online on the Japanese servers of the game, responding to a few questions from players, as reported by blogger Umadori.
Among other things, he mentioned that we should “look forward to the Switch [version].” Of course, it’s very likely he meant the Switch 2, but that’s just my speculation at the moment.
The Cloud-style hair will also be made available to Viera characters, while glamor job restrictions will be removed from mannequins has they have been from playable characters.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S. It recently received update 7.4.
Incidentally, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the pillars of Square Enix’s game lineup, with its recurring revenue making the MMO segment the most profitable among the publisher’s businesses.
