Everything Announced at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival Berlin 2026

The Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin (July 25–26) brought a wave of major announcements for the upcoming Evercold expansion. Here is the full breakdown of what was revealed, from the new Bastion job to the FFVII crossover raid, platform news, and system overhauls.

Bastion: The First New Job of Evercold

Bastion was revealed as the first new Job for Evercold, a tank role — making it the fifth tank in FFXIV . It is classified as a "main tank", a new designation under the Evolved combat system that focuses on a balance of defense and offense rather than support .

Bastion is also the first brand-new class in FFXIV unassociated with any previous Final Fantasy job . Its reveal trailer showed heavy armor and a pair of greatshields known as skyltborg, emphasizing frontal pressure and mitigation .

A second unannounced job (a physical ranged DPS) is still coming for Evercold but was not detailed in Berlin; details are expected at the Tokyo Fan Festival in October .

Evercold Expansion: Launching January 2027

Evercold is the 8.0 expansion for FFXIV and is scheduled to launch in January 2027 . The setting is "The Icebound Realm of the Fourth," featuring at least two new zones and a new hub city :

• Naglfar, the Realmship of Water
• Hringhorni (a new area)
• Fargarth (new hub city)

A five-minute extended teaser trailer was shown, offering a deeper look at the frozen environments and story direction . The level cap will rise to 110 . Evercold begins a new story arc called The Godless Realms Saga .

Beyond the Lifestream: A Final Fantasy VII Remake Raid Series

Evercold's 8-player raid series is titled "Beyond the Lifestream" — a full crossover with the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy . This marks the first time FFXIV has directly collaborated with FFVII's core story in a raid series .

Director Naoki Yoshida was joined on stage by Naoki Hamaguchi, director of FFVII Rebirth and Revelation, to announce the collaboration . The raid will feature characters and set pieces from the Remake trilogy, including Sephiroth, Cloud, and the broader cast . It will include 12 boss fights released in three tiers across patch 8.01 and later .

The raid series will feature three difficulty levels: Normal, a new intermediate difficulty, and Savage (Extreme-equivalent) . Scenario oversight comes from veterans of the original FFVII, including Kazushige Nojima (scenario supervision) and Tetsuya Nomura (design supervision) .

Platform Availability: Nintendo Switch 2 Date Confirmed

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of FFXIV will launch on August 4, 2026, with pre-orders opening immediately after the announcement . The Evercold expansion itself will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (via Steam) .

The Switch 2 version will require a separate monthly subscription from other platforms but will not require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Existing subscribers on other platforms can receive a 50 percent discount on the Switch 2 version . The base game on Switch 2 will include all expansions through Evercold on launch day .

Key System Changes: Combat, Customization, and Armory Overhaul

Evolved Combat System

A two-mode system was detailed at the NA Fan Fest and reiterated in Berlin :

• Reborn Mode: A refined version of the traditional playstyle, available to all existing jobs (except Blue Mage and Beastmaster).
• Evolved Mode: A streamlined framework with branching rotations, fewer buttons (approximately 16 action slots), and greater player individuality. New jobs like Bastion — along with Blue Mage and Beastmaster — use Evolved Mode exclusively . Both modes share gear and level and can be swapped freely outside combat .

Character Customization Upgrade

Full posability in the character creation and glamour screen (beyond the current rotation-only system) was confirmed . Expanded options include a color picker for eye, hair, and skin tones, layered face paint, detailed eye and lip customization, and the ability to toggle visibility of specific gear parts . Further customization for Au Ra horns, face paint, and Lalafell noses are planned for 8.1 and beyond . Further graphical enhancements building on the Dawntrail visual update were also mentioned .

Armory System Overhaul

The Armory System is receiving its first overhaul in 13 years. Item levels will be sharable across different jobs on the same character, allowing greater flexibility in content participation without being locked out due to item level requirements .

Other Notable Announcements

• Evangelion Crossover: Additional footage of the previously teased crossover was shown .
• Improved Quest Design: Promised for the expansion, aiming to reduce filler and streamline the leveling experience .
• New Raid Difficulty: A third difficulty tier is being added for 8-player raids, between Normal and Savage .
• Action Skins: Players can earn new animations for abilities, with more details to come .