Final Fantasy 14 Unveils Exciting Evangelion Collaboration and Key Fan Fest Highlights
Naoki Yoshida, the producer behind Final Fantasy XIV, had plenty to share at the game’s first 2026 Fan Fest, kicking things off with the announcement of FFXIV 8.0 and the anticipated Switch 2 port. He detailed a wealth of changes set to arrive with the launch of Evercold in January, including much-requested enhancements to item progression, an expanded free trial, new combat mechanics, and more.
While some of the biggest announcements were primarily in name, such as updates to field designs and new combat options, more detailed information is expected to roll out in the coming months.
Yoshida unveiled the Alliance Raid for FFXIV 8.0, which will feature a collaboration with the iconic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. These Alliance Raids, designed for 24 players, typically alternate between Final Fantasy-themed content and exciting crossovers, like the NieR Automata series from Shadowbringers. While Square Enix is leading the development, the producer of Evangelion will oversee the project. Alliance Raids usually span an entire patch cycle—Dawntrail’s concluded with patch 7.5—but specific dates for this collaboration are still under wraps.
The free trial for FFXIV will be expanded to include content up to patch 5.5, encompassing the acclaimed Shadowbringers expansion. Although there are some restrictions, such as limited access to the in-game item marketplace, players can enjoy the base game and four expansions without a subscription fee.
Yoshida also showcased concept art for Evercold locations, revealing that many areas won’t be as icy as the initial trailer suggested, along with design ideas for new gear and a cat tribe.
One of the main objectives for FFXIV 8.0 is to make it easier for players to integrate the game into their busy lives. The current daily duties will be replaced by a new weekly progression system, allowing players to track available quests and missions—like clearing dungeons, completing side quests, or finishing main scenario quests—along with the activity points earned from them. Some missions will be repeatable, while others, such as main scenario quests, will be one-time events. Increasing your activity level will grant access to new gear, aiming to replace the outdated Allagan Tomestone system.
These changes are designed to “minimize the content gap” that has plagued item progression, where players often focus on specific challenges like raids and overlook other content, leading to downtime during patches without raids.
Yoshida also hinted at a new seasonal structure, which isn’t a season pass or a shift to a free-to-play model. Instead, seasons will serve as a more organized way to present each expansion. Even and odd-numbered patches within a cycle (like 8.0 and 8.1) will be grouped as a single season, but the content of the patches will remain consistent, including raids and allied society quests.
Building on the graphical enhancements from Dawntrail, Evercold will introduce significant improvements alongside streamlined job progression.
With FFXIV 8.0, players will have access to Reborn Mode and Evolved Mode combat options. Reborn Mode will maintain the standard combat for all existing 21 jobs (excluding Blue Mage and Beastmaster), while Evolved Mode will be introduced for them, with all jobs from 8.0 onward featuring only Evolved Mode. Yoshida was somewhat reserved about the specifics of this change, only mentioning that Evolved Mode aims to reduce button bloat and introduce new actions and rotations. More details are expected during July’s Fan Fest.
Yoshida briefly touched on additional improvements that Square Enix plans to reveal later this year, including:
