Final Fantasy XIV Evercold delayed, Zephyr job revealed

Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold now launches on February 23, 2027, on PC, Mac, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2, a few weeks after its original January window. Naoki Yoshida, who is both producer and director, announced the new date on stage in Tokyo at this year’s Fan Festival, and he used the same show to reveal Zephyr, the second job coming with the expansion.

Evercold is the sixth expansion for the MMORPG, which Square Enix says has now topped 35 million registered accounts. It debuted at the Anaheim Fan Festival in April with that January window attached, and it will be the first expansion launch for the Switch 2 version, which arrived on August 4.

A crossbow, a falcon and a new combat rulebook

Zephyr fills the physical ranged DPS slot, firing a crossbow while Nephele, a bird companion, joins the fight. According to FullCleared’s keynote report, the job starts at level 90 with a quest line that kicks off in Gridania, slotting in beside Bastion, the dual-greatshield tank shown earlier in the year.

The catch for traditionalists is that both new jobs only work in Evolved Mode, the reworked battle system built around each job’s identity. Reborn Mode keeps today’s combat and job mechanics for anyone who wants to skip the overhaul, but Bastion and Zephyr are locked out of it.

The keynote also put Sessrymnir, the Realmship of Earth, on the map. It sits alongside Naglfar and Hringhorni among the airborne ships that serve as hubs over the icy Fourth, and the level cap goes up from 100 to 110.

Evangelion, Fierce raids and a new way to earn gear

Square Enix’s official announcement also brought a fresh trailer for EVANGELION: Ghosts of Desire, the alliance raid crossover, plus new Tetsuya Nomura artwork for Beyond the Lifestream, the Final Fantasy VII Remake raid series.

Other confirmed additions include:

• Fierce, a middle tier of raid difficulty that is harder than Normal but easier than Savage
• Tougher eight-player battles built from reworked alliance raid bosses
• Gauntlet of Power, a four-player boss rush, as listed by Windows Central
• Seasons, an overhauled system for earning item rewards
• Expanded character creation and Character Action Skins
• Housing, PvP and companion chocobo upgrades from Patch 8.1 onwards

Seasons is the one most likely to reshape the weekly routine. “Seasons bring a significant change to how item rewards are obtained, providing a higher level of freedom to play the way you want to play,” Square Enix said in its announcement.

Seasons bring a significant change to how item rewards are obtained, providing a higher level of freedom to play the way you want to play.

Square Enix

Windows Central did flag one gap: a proper deep dive into Evolved Mode, which changes the abilities and rotations of every job, has yet to arrive.

Pre-orders open next week

Pre-orders for Evercold and the physical Collector’s Box go live on November 4 at 9am GMT. If you pre-order, you can start playing early on February 19, 2027, though Square Enix calls that date tentative. You also get Halone’s Earring, which adds 30% to the EXP you earn from killing monsters until a job reaches 100, and a Wind-Up Köttr minion. Inven Global reports that both items arrive as soon as the order goes through.

The limited Collector’s Bundle is only available from the Square Enix Store. It combines the physical box with a code for the Digital Collector’s Edition on Windows or Mac. On consoles and Steam, the two are bought as separate purchases, and the box itself, with its Yoshitaka Amano art box and Reaper figure, does not include the game.

Square Enix’s announcement does not explain the four-week slip. In the meantime, NA and EU tests of same-region player matching begin on November 10, so one change lands well ahead of the expansion’s long winter.