Warriors of Light have a little longer to wait. Square Enix has delayed Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold, the next expansion for its critically acclaimed MMORPG. It now launches on 23 February 2027, with early access starting on 19 February 2027. The news came at FFXIV Fan Fest in Japan.

Evercold was first revealed at the North American Fan Fest back in April, with a January 2027 launch window. IGN reports that the slip was described as a delay of only four weeks. It's still a change of plans for anyone who'd pencilled in the new year for their next big adventure.

What the delay means if you play

Here's the short version if you're waiting on the expansion:

  • Early access: provisionally set for Friday 19 February 2027 at 1:00am PT, according to Gematsu. You'll need to pre-order through a participating retailer to get it.
  • Full launch: 23 February 2027.
  • Pre-orders: open on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET.

One pre-order bonus is Halone's Earring, an accessory whose stats change to suit your class or job and level. While you wear it, you also get 30 per cent more EXP for defeating enemies. Gematsu notes that the in-game pre-order items are handed out the moment you pre-order, so you can use the earring's EXP boost to level jobs up to 100 before Evercold arrives. The other pre-order bonus is a Wind-Up Kottr minion.

If you buy through the Mog Station, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store or Nintendo eShop, the bonuses are added automatically. Some retailers will give you a code to redeem instead.

Over at CBR, the delay is framed as moving Evercold closer to FF7 Revelation.

Meet Zephyr, the second new job

The delay wasn't the only news. The Japan Fan Fest keynote opened with Evercold's full-length trailer, which is also the expansion's opening cinematic. After that, producer and director Naoki Yoshida revealed the second new job: Zephyr.

Zephyr deals physical damage from range, and its main weapon is a crossbow. A bird companion called Nephele supports it in battle. Eurogamer boiled it down to a crossbow-and-bird job, which is a pretty good summary. It joins the other new job, the tank Bastion.

Official artwork of Zephyr, Evercold's new ranged job: a hooded archer in white furs and blue robes aims a crossbow, with the blue-winged bird companion Nephele alongside
Zephyr job artwork: © SQUARE ENIX, via the Final Fantasy XIV Evercold site

What else is coming with patch 8.0

Evercold is the patch 8.0 expansion, and the keynote covered a lot of ground. Highlights from Gematsu's rundown include:

  • New areas in the icebound realm known as the Fourth.
  • Beyond the Lifestream, a raid series crossover with the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. Tetsuya Nomura has created new artwork for it.
  • A fresh trailer for EVANGELION: Ghosts of Desire, the Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover alliance raid. It also gets tougher eight-player battles built around reworked alliance raid bosses.
  • A new Fierce raid difficulty that sits between Normal and Savage.
  • Evolved Combat Mode, designed to bring out each job's own identity.
  • Seasons, a new reward system that changes how you earn item rewards.
  • Improved character creation and new Character Action Skins.
  • Housing, PvP and companion chocobo updates, starting with patch 8.1.

Collector's Edition details

If you're after the fancy version, the physical Collector's Box includes:

  • An art box featuring an Evercold illustration by Yoshitaka Amano
  • A figure of the Warrior of Light as a reaper
  • An Ethos metal keychain
  • A Kottr mini plush
  • The "Tapestry of the Fourth"

Bear in mind the box is physical extras only: there's no game code inside, and no in-game goodies or pre-order rewards either. The in-game items come with the Digital Collector's Edition, which adds a Valhallar Odin mount, an Entreat Crystal emote and a Crystal Skyltborg weapon for Bastion. Pre-order bonuses come from pre-ordering the expansion.

The Square Enix Store will sell a limited Collector's Bundle that pairs the box with a Windows or Mac code for the Digital Collector's Edition. Players on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 and Steam can buy the box separately and pre-order the digital edition on their own platform.

The bottom line

For players waiting on Evercold, IGN says the delay comes to about four weeks. In return, there's now a confirmed launch date, a new job to try and plenty of features to look forward to. Pre-orders open on 4 November. Early access is provisionally set for 19 February, and the full launch follows on 23 February 2027. Until then, there's time to level a few jobs and catch up on the main story.