Last week, the Final Fantasy XIV team held a live letter to outline crafting and PvP changes coming in Endwalker. Though I was excited to see what they had to say, it was scheduled to start at 10 p.m.—and I’m way too much of an old lady now and get tired at like 9.
So the next day, I decided to catch up on what I’d missed, and it didn’t take long for me to see the news of the day: Endwalker had been delayed.
At first, I was disappointed. I’d booked vacation time for early access and everything! But the more I read into it, the more I decided it was a good call. And in case you also missed the announcement, here’s what you need to know.
Why it happened
From what Yoshi-P has explained, Endwalker wasn’t quite on track for its release date. He was incredibly apologetic about it in the live letter, too—so it’s clear it’s not a decision they made lightly.
It sounds like the extra time is to allow for proper QA on all the content coming out with Endwalker—so it’s pretty hard to be mad about that. Yes, please, give us a complete, fully functional expansion!
One article I was reading on the subject mentioned that the team had discussed the possibility of putting Endwalker out in patches just so they could technically hit the release date. But it seems Square Enix is starting to learn from how mad the gaming world got over that exact thing happening with Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake, because they decided to push the whole thing back.
When it's coming
Endwalker is now slated for release on December 7, 2021, with early access starting on December 3.
I’ll be honest, that’s another reason I can’t be mad about this delay. I’m basically now getting Endwalker for my birthday, and what better way to celebrate turning 30 than by spending five days straight playing video games?
What it means for players
All in all, I think this is a good thing for players for a few reasons. First, it means that we’re getting the same sort of quality with Endwalker that we came to expect after Shadowbringers because the team is taking the extra time they need for testing.
It also gives us more time to prep for the new expansion, whether that’s selling off old materials on the market board, leveling alternate classes, finishing Shadowbringers content, or participating in current events.
Square Enix has said that this delay is extending the treasure trove event too, something that many players are excited about.
Of course, this does mean that other things are getting pushed back too. Square Enix has already announced that All Saints’ Wake is getting pushed back to late January. And though they haven’t exactly said when 6.1 is coming out yet (and so don’t need to announce a delay), this likely means it’ll be January before we see Ishgard housing, which we now know is named Empyreum, come to life, too.
