Final Fantasy 14's New Stormblood Expansion Announced

Square Enix has announced the next expansion for PC and PS4 MMO Final Fantasy XIV, Stormblood.

The expansion was revealed during the keynote of Final Fantasy XIV's 2016 Fan Festival in Las Vegas today. Director Naoki Yoshida took to the stage to provide an overview of the expansion and the accompanying 4.0 update. It takes place in the location of Ala Mhigo and will have players face off against a bad guy by the name of Zenos.

Update 4.0 increases the level cap from 60 to 70 and introduces new jobs, but Yoshida didn't announce specifics. There will also be new equipment for existing jobs.

Stormblood brings new areas, and you can expect there to be at least as many new ones as in the previous expansion, Heavensward--Yoshida promised it will have a "full standalone game's worth of content." A fourth residential area is also being added, the setting for which wasn't unveiled because it's tied to the main storyline. There will be new Primals, dungeons, and high-end raids, too.

The battle system is being revamped, which will see an overhaul to the skill system. Skills will be re-categorized to make it easier to switch between jobs. Skills that aren't used much or have little purpose will be "reassessed," likely meaning they'll be reworked or cut altogether to make things easier for casual players.

The biggest cheer of all from the crowd came when it was announced that the item inventory is expanding, something that has been a long time coming. It's described as an "extreme" expansion, though specifics weren't shared. Yoshida described it as a serious technical challenge, so this increase may not come until after 4.0 launches in order to ensure this change doesn't disrupt service.

Stormblood will raise the required specs for those playing on PC to provide a better experience. 32-bit operating systems will continue to be supported, but Yoshida strongly encouraged players to upgrade to 64-bit.

Lastly, support for the PS3 version of the game will end with the release of Stormblood.

Stormblood is planned for launch in "early summer" 2017. Yoshida concluded the keynote by saying what was announced today was "just an introduction," with more details to be announced in the coming months.