We’re moving towards the fifth expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, and players are chomping at the bit for more information about the Dawntrail debut. The MMO’s expansion and patch schedule maintains a rather predictable beat, but we’ve seen a few curveballs along the way.
With that in mind, here’s a timeline of previous FFXIV expansions in order by release date, along with the official release date for Version 7.0, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail on July 2, and its early access details.
A Realm Reborn
When the original Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 launched on September 30, 2010, it was immediately dubbed a failure. At least, that was until Yoshi P and his team stepped up to drag the game back from the dead, making it the incredibly successful MMO that we know today.
A Realm Reborn was released on August 27, 2013, for PlayStation 3 and Windows, replacing the previous version.
Heavensward
Heavensward, the first expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, was announced in October 2014 and was set to release in the Spring of 2015, though it saw a small delay. Here’s the timeline for Heavensward:
| Announced | October 2014 |
| Was it delayed? | Yes, from Spring to Summer 2015 |
| Pre-orders began | March 16, 2015 |
| Early Access Weekend began | June 19, 2015 |
| Official launch date | June 23, 2015 |
Stormblood
Announced at the end of 2016 during that year’s Tokyo’s Fan Festival, Stormblood is the second expansion of FFXIV. Here’s the timeline for Stormblood:
| Release Date Revealed: | Tokyo FanFest, December 25, 2016 |
| Was it delayed? | No |
| Pre-order began | January 24, 2017 |
| Early Access Weekend began | June 16, 2017 |
| Official launch date | June 20, 2017 |
Shadowbringers
When it was announced during a Live Letter from the Producers in November 2018, Shadowbringers was set to release in “early summer” of 2019. Here’s the full timeline for the Shadowbringers:
| Release Date Revealed: | Paris FanFest, February 2, 2019 |
| Was it delayed? | No |
| Pre-order began | February 6, 2019 |
| Early Access Weekend began | June 28, 2019 |
| Official launch date | July 2, 2019 |
Endwalker
The last expansion that players received, Endwalker, faced a few issues during release, including delays and the expected queuing issues during early access. It was teased in a post on the Lodestone and officially announced during a showcase on February 5, 2021. Here’s the full rundown of dates for Endwalker:
| Release Date Revealed: | May, 2021 |
| Was it delayed? | Yes, by two weeks from November 23, 2021 |
| Pre-order began | May 14, 2021 |
| Early Access Weekend began | December 3, 2021 |
| Official launch date | December 7, 2021 |
Dawntrail
Update: On March 23, Square Enix officially revealed that FFXIV will release its fifth expansion of summer 2024, on July 2. As usual, Dawntrail will see an early access period beginning on June 28, but you’ll need to pre-order the expansion to register. As for what to expect, you can check out our preview from the 2024 Dawntrail preview now — including a peak at zones, Job changes, and more.
The announcement for FFXIV’s next adventure was made at PAX East, breaking the game’s typical cycle of Fan Fest-related announcements. It’s no surprise after the Shadowbringers COVID delays, and the domino effect that had into future development with Endwalker.
Original Guide: From everything above and the speculative release date of Summer 2024, we can hazard a guess that Dawntrail could possibly be released during June 2024, but that is not confirmed as of yet. Plus, Yoshi-P already stressed during the Las Vegas Fanfest that it’s just a window, and summer goes on until August.
Unfortunately, all of the Dawntrail community events have wrapped up with no release date for the next FFXIV expansion. According to Yoshi-P, the summer timing is still part of the plan, but they aren’t ready to nail down the exact date just yet. Part of that decision comes after the two-week Endwalker delay, which the team is still clearly frustrated by. On the subject, during his Tokyo Fan Fest presentation, Yoshida noted:
“We will not be releasing on Square Enix time; we will be releasing on [Final Fantasy] XIV time, which means properly in summer. So we will work very hard to get you that info as soon as possible and will have it for you next time, so thank you for your patience.”
