2020 was quite “turbulent” for many. Even Final Fantasy XIV was affected by the events of the year. We look back at how the past 12 months went for the MMORPG and what the current year 2021 will bring that is really exciting.
Another year is coming to an end, and what a year it has been. In the gaming industry, there were countless delays due to the Corona pandemic, but also major releases and even a new console generation.
While Square Enix’s flagship MMORPG started the year 2020 with a bang, it is now just before 2021 and things seem rather quiet around the game. The year between two expansions was not without its problems, but it also brought some successes and good news.
Let’s look back on the year together.
2020: The Year Between Addons
The Problems in 2020: After FFXIV celebrated great success with the expansion Shadowbringers, the patch sequence in 2020 initially continued as usual after the release.
The first major patch of the year, numbered 5.2, was released in February, but soon the Corona pandemic disrupted the developers’ plans. In spring, Japan went into a total shutdown to contain the outbreak, and the FFXIV team had to quickly adapt to working from home.
This caused significant delays and disruptions in the normally tight schedule of the FFXIV devs.
- The content update 5.3 was released with a delay of about 2 months.
- The traditional Halloween event was canceled, even though players could still enter the Halloween dungeon.
The Updates in 2020: Nevertheless, the team managed to deliver quite a bit of content in 2020. Patches 5.2 to 5.4 brought new gaming content for players.
These included, for example:
- 2 updates for the Eden Raid with 4 boss fights each in normal and epic
- 1 update for the Nier Raid YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse
- A large number of quests for main and side stories
- A series of new dungeons
- Flying in old “A Realm Reborn” areas
- A quest line for the “Relic” weapons from Shadowbringers: Weapons of the Resistance
- Other smaller content
Additionally, the free trial version of FFXIV was massively expanded to include all content from the base game “A Realm Reborn” and the first expansion “Heavensward”. The only restrictions relate to social features like guild membership or friends list.
Financially, the year 2020 was likely successful for FFXIV. At the beginning of 2020, Square Enix’s MMO division reported a new record in revenues (via MMOs.com), thanks in no small part to the success of Shadowbringers.
The first half of the fiscal year 2021 (April 1 to September 30, 2020) was also satisfactory. While net sales were naturally lower compared to the launch of Shadowbringers, the number of active FFXIV subscriptions continued to increase according to Square Enix’s financial report (via square-enix.com).
Is there a new addon on the horizon?
What the near future brings: In 2021, FFXIV will continue with new content. The remaining content from patch 5.4 will be delivered, and players will receive, among other things, the continuation of the Bozja quest line regarding the weapons of the resistance.
In February, the postponed stream to celebrate FFXIV’s 7th birthday will take place. Players are expecting a special “Announcement Showcase.” After all fan festivals for FFXIV had to be canceled due to Corona, it is speculated that at this big showcase, the new add-on for the MMORPG will be unveiled.
Although the event was announced with a wink and it was not explicitly said that it would revolve around the addon, the chances for that are very high. Therefore, 2021 should be really exciting for FFXIV players.
The director Yoshida confirmed working on the addon shortly after the release of Shadowbringers but so far there has been no information on it. There have been no rumors or leaks.
Fans can look forward to what major announcements they can expect on February 5th. If it really turns out to be a new addon, one can expect a new cinematic trailer to be shown and perhaps also new combat jobs and areas to be added.
What the distant future brings: However, there will be a few months between the announcement and the release of the addon. Currently, it is estimated that it could appear in late summer or early autumn 2021.
Before that, patch 5.5 and its mini-patches will be released. They are expected to complete the Shadowbringers expansion and its content and pave the way for the new addon. The contents include:
- New story quests that will form the transition to the new addon
- The final chapter of the 24-man raid YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse
- Completion of the quest line regarding Werlyt and probably the battle against the Diamond Weapon
- New content for the Southern Front of Bozja and upgrades for the weapons of the resistance
- Possibly a new raid with the ultimate difficulty
Additionally, there will be a whole series of smaller events such as the princess festival, Valentine’s Day, summer festival, and many more, where players will once again be able to snag cosmetic items as usual.
Overall, the year 2021 promises to be exciting for the MMORPG and its players.
What do you expect for updates in FFXIV in 2021? Let us know in the comments.
