Final Fantasy 14 Xbox open beta will kick off next month says director

Anyone who’s been anticipating the release of Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox Series X|S doesn’t have much longer to wait, as director and producer Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) has confirmed that the open beta will begin next month. 

It was first announced last July that the hit massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) would be coming to Xbox consoles, at which point it was given a “spring 2024” release window, effectively placing it tentatively between the months of March to June. Now though, during the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival 2024, which took place in Tokyo over the weekend, Yoshida narrowed this down even earlier to February.

“As far as Xbox goes, we will be beginning the open beta test in February. Our current plan is to begin open beta around the 21st, plans could still change a few days in either direction, but that’s what we’re aiming for,” he said. “I really hope that a lot of Xbox players will get started right from beta and join us in [Final Fantasy] 14, and I look forward to meeting a lot of Xbox players as Warriors of Light in-game.”

Last year, it was announced (via Xbox Wire) that the Xbox Series X version of Final Fantasy 14 will include 4K support, but “both consoles will enjoy fast loading times.” At the time, it was also stated that Series X|S players will be able to try out the copypasta-famous Expanded Free Trial, which will allow them to play through A Realm Reborn, Heavensward and Stormblood expansions up to level 70, without any playtime restrictions. 

In other Final Fantasy 14 news, during the Fan Festival it was also confirmed that the Pictomancer job (essentially, class) is coming to the game’s upcoming Dawntrail expansion. Placed in the caster DPS (damage per second) role, players will be able to cast spells using a paintbrush. 

Dawntrail still doesn’t have an exact release date beyond its ‘summer 2024’ window, meaning it could launch anytime between June and August. Yoshida stated: “Unfortunately, though we do have an internal date that we are targeting, we are adjusting the schedule, making sure it’s fine-tuned as much as it possibly can be before announcing, so we will not be sharing that today.” Explaining this, he said that he doesn’t want the expansion to get delayed like Endwalker previously did.

Find some fantastic recommendations for more games like Final Fantasy 14 with our lists of the best MMORPGs, as well as the best MMOs.