SQUARE ENIX announced today that the third expansion for its critically-acclaimed MMO, FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers, will launch on July 2, 2019, with pre-orders beginning on February 6, 2019.
Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida first revealed the release date, alongside new information about upcoming content in the expansion, during the opening keynote address at FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in Paris.
The first new job being introduced to the Shadowbringers expansion is the ‘gunbreaker’—a gunblade-wielding fighter that occupies the tank role. A first look at the gunbreaker in action can be seen here:https://youtu.be/uTe_GM8uEk0
Additionally, a new playable race was revealed – the ‘Viera’, a lithe race with long-ears like rabbits and best known from the world of Ivalice and FINAL FANTASY XII. The Viera reveal trailer is available here:https://youtu.be/N8JE4-T-i0s
The follow-up to the wildly popular Return to Ivalice alliance raid series will be YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse– a collaborative effort with special guest creators Yosuke Saito (Square Enix producer) and YOKO TARO (game designer), which will reunite the duo that helmed the NieR series.
Logo Art for the New 24-Man Alliance Raid
A full list of new content revealed in Paris is below:
New Job: The gunbreaker – master of the gunblade.
New Playable Race: The Viera – rabbit-like wardens of the wood.
Trust System: An all-new system allowing players to tackle Shadowbringers instanced dungeons with familiar NPCs by their side (excluding dungeons requiring more than 4 party members).
New Areas: Il Mheg–a lush, awe-inspiring vale, and the Rak’tika Greatwood–a sprawling forest of ancient, towering sentinels.
New Beast Tribe and Primal: The pixies and their almighty regent, Titania.
New Alliance Raid: YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse–from the minds of renowned NieR creators Yosuke Saito and YOKO TARO.
The FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers Collector’s Edition
SQUARE ENIX also revealed details of the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers Collector’s Edition. The collector’s edition will be available to pre-order on the Square Enix Store beginning on February 6, 2019 at 11:00 AM PT and includes the following:
Shadowbringers Special Art Box: A unique silver-inlaid box featuring an illustration by artist Yoshitaka Amano.
Dark Knight Figure: An impressive high-quality figure of the Warrior of Darkness as a dark knight.
Shadowbringers Art Book : An art book featuring behind-the-scenes illustrations and concept art from the development of Shadowbringers.
Shadowbringers Logo Cling : A reusable vinyl cling featuring the Shadowbringers logo.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Playing Card s: A deck of playing cards featuring artwork from A Realm Reborn through Shadowbringers.
Exclusive In-Game Items
Grani Mount
Wind-up Fran Minion
Revolver Gunbreaker Weapon
Players who pre-order either edition of Shadowbringers will be eligible to receive exclusive in-game items, which are planned for distribution beginning March 1, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. (PT):
Baby Gremlin Minion
Aetheryte Earring – This earring grants a 30% increase in EXP when worn, up to level 70, as well as attributes that vary based on the user’s class/job and current level.
Pre-ordering will also allow users to enjoy early access to Shadowbringers ahead of the official release. Early Access is scheduled to begin on June 28, 20191
Additionally, in a surprise announcement, Yoshida revealed that the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Starter Edition for PC—including 30 days of subscription time—will be included with Twitch Prime2 beginning February 4, 2019 through May 3, 2019. Complete details on this promotion, including instructions on code redemption are available here: www.twitchprime.com.
Fans can look forward to more information on Shadowbringers at the Fan Festival in Tokyo on March 23-24, 2019. All Fan Festival events will be streamed free of charge on the official FINAL FANTASY XIV Twitch channel:https://www.twitch.tv/finalfan