Square Enix held the first of three FanFests of 2026 for their critically acclaimed MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV. The event held in Anaheim revealed Evercold, the sixth expansion pack in the series following the relaunch of the game “A Realm Reborn” in 2010.

The first Final Fantasy XIV FanFest of 2026 recently held in North America in Anaheim, CA, revealed the next expansion in the series at the highly anticipated keynote with Evercold, kicking off a new story arc following the events of Endwalker released in 2021 and immediately kicking off following the conclusion of the previous expansion released in 2024, Dawntrail.

A lot of new information was revealed of what to expect in the upcoming expansion, due out in January 2027—a change from the usual release window of June-July as with the previous expansions, with the exception of Endwalker. In Evercold, the level cap will be raised from 100 to 110; players can expect a more simplified rotation system of skills to use during battle, as well as new features to cater to those who identify as casual players to allow for catching up on character progression.

Lastly, two new jobs were teased that will be further detailed at the next Final Fantasy XIV FanFests, the next one following the Anaheim stop will be held in Berlin, Germany on July 25 & 26. More details relating to Evercold will be revealed in Berlin, as well as the final stop in Japan at the Tokyo FanFest October 31-November 1.

One more announcement revealed during the Evercold reveal keynote was the upcoming alliance raid crossover. Where previous alliance raid themes were twists of previous Final Fantasy games such as the Final Fantasy XI crossover in the post-Dawntrail patches; the next one will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, titled: “Ghosts of Desire”.

For those who are readers of Centaku Media, check out the video posted by our very own VTuber, Nakaichi, of their reaction to the Evercold trailer reveal!

[Source: Square Enix Press Release]