A new Final Fantasy XIV expansion was announced by Square Enix at the game’s annual fanfest. Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers, along with the its 5.0 update, are expected to release in summer 2019.
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers will see the player character, a Warrior of Light, as they become a Warrior of Darkness in the new story expansion. Shadowbringers adds new narrative content, new areas, a higher level cap, and several more playable classes. It will be the third expansion to Square Enix’s popular MMORPG. Producer Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P to fans) announced Shadowbringers at the fanfest earlier today. Find the teaser cinematic below.
The expansion is expected to bring nine new dungeons to the game, several “beast tribes” to gain favor with, a series of end-game raids, and a new “Trust” system. The new system will let players recruit NPCs to dungeon parties and is similar to a system in Final Fantasy XI.
Update 5.0 is also bringing a New Game Plus mode to Final Fantasy XIV. The mode will let players bring their current characters through the game’s many storylines and expansions. Players will also be able to transfer characters freely between worlds within their data center in order to more easily play with friends. Square Enix has also committed to launching new data centers to handle an expected jump in players when the expansion launches.
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers is the third Final Fantasy XIV expansion, following 2017’s Stormblood, and 2015’s Heavensward expansions. Both previous expansions were well received, and added a similar amount of new comment to the game. XIV received a complete overhaul known as A Realm Reborn in 2013, that took the critically and commercially unsuccessful MMO and turned it into a beloved juggernaut in the genre. Yoshida is often credited with the success of A Realm Reborn, as the game has flourished into a multi-million subscribing player base, and a steady flow of profit for Square Enix. The expansion’s site is now live.
