360 FFXI, Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion dated

One of Microsoft's big announcements at E3 2005 was the debut of the Final Fantasy series on a Microsoft console--the Xbox 360, to be exact. What wasn't known was the game's release date--until now. Square Enix today announced that Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360 will be available in North America on April 18. Two days later, the game will be available in Japan and Europe.

The massively multiplayer online role-playing game will be an all-in-one package, combining the original game plus the three expansion packs: Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and the all-new Treasures of Aht Urhgan.

PlayStation 2 and PC players desperate for the expansion needn't get in an uproar. Treasures of Aht Urhgan is getting a multiplatform release, and will also ship on April 18 for the PS2 and PC.

Included in the new expansion will be new jobs, such as the Blue Mage and Corsair, new monsters and realms to explore, as well as tweaks to gameplay like those found in previous expansions.

Pricing for the expansion and the Xbox 360 version have not yet been announced. For more details, check out GameSpot's hands-on with the beta test of FFXI for the Xbox 360.