This year's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest had an unexpected visitor today, as Xbox head Phil Spencer took to the stage during the announcement that Final Fantasy 14 is finally coming to Xbox consoles after having only been available on PlayStation consoles for a number of years.
It was announced at the time that an Open Beta for the Xbox version of Final Fantasy 14 will be taking place in Spring next year, though a sepcfici date has not yet been announced. It also appears that Final Fantasy 14 may only be available on Xbox Series X for the time being, but it's promised that the console will support faster loading as well as 4k visuals.
Xbox's relationship with Square Enix and Final Fantasy has been a little patchy to say the least, with titles such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 launching exclusively on PlayStation consoles. This could be a sign that both Microsoft and Square Enix are beginning to work with each other more closely, and Spencer himself has commented on the announcement by saying that he and Xbox are looking forward to "partnering closely with Square Enix on future games", though he could simply be referring to potential ports.
Square Enix's new CEO Takashi Kiryu also reaffirmed the company's commitment to the Xbox platform, stating that it will always make sure to release its future games on Xbox consoles "whenever possible", though doesn't specifically mention any currently PlayStation exclusive Final Fantasy titles.
Also during the event, Final Fantasy 14's next big expansion was also revealed, as Dawntrail will be hitting PC and consoles in Summer 2024. The expansion will take our Warriros of Light to The New World, Tural for a much needed vacation, and the trailer's vibes are completely off the charts. Not only that, but the expansion will also finally increase the level cap to Level 100, add two new DPS for players to jump into, and the game's first graphical update, which will bring with it "improvements to texture resolutions and material qualities".