Square Enix has shared a closer look at Evercold, the next expansion for FINAL FANTASY XIV Online, during the FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Tokyo. The expansion launches on Tuesday 23 February 2027. During the opening keynote, Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida revealed Zephyr, the second of two new jobs coming in Evercold. Zephyr is a physical ranged DPS that fights with a crossbow, supported by an avian familiar called Nephele. You can see more of this new job below:
The keynote also outlined a range of other content heading to Evercold and beyond. Players will explore new areas in the Icebound Realm of the Fourth, and a new Evolved Combat Mode is designed to highlight each job’s unique identity. A new reward system called Seasons changes how item rewards are earned, giving players more freedom in how they play, while improved character creation and new Character Action Skins expand customisation options. Expanded housing features, PvP updates, a revamped companion chocobo system and more will follow from Patch 8.1 onwards.
Raiders have plenty to look forward to as well. New artwork by FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Series Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura was shown for Beyond the Lifestream, a raid series crossover with the FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Series. A new difficulty option called Fierce will also sit between Normal and Savage, opening raid content up to a wider range of players.
A new trailer was also shown for EVANGELION: Ghosts of Desire, the Evangelion alliance raid crossover, along with new high-difficulty eight-player battles that rework select bosses from alliance raids into more challenging, savage-like encounters.
Pre-orders for Evercold and the previously announced Collector’s Box open on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 10:00am Pacific time. layers who pre-order through participating retailers will receive:
Early access, tentatively starting on Friday 19 February 2027 at 1:00am Pacific time (8:00pm AEDT on Friday 19 February)
Halone’s Earring, an in-game item whose attributes scale with the player’s class or job and level, and which grants 30% more EXP from defeating enemies
The Wind-Up Köttr Minion
Pre-order bonuses are registered automatically for purchases through the Mog Station, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store and Nintendo eShop, while select retailers will provide a code that can be redeemed straight away. Because the in-game items are delivered as soon as players pre-order, the Halone’s Earring EXP bonus can be used to level jobs up to 100 before Evercold launches.
The Evercold Collector’s Box contains physical goods only and does not include a copy of the game, in-game items or pre-order bonuses. It includes:
An Evercold Special Art Box featuring an illustration by Yoshitaka Amano
A figure of the Warrior of Light as a reaper
An Ethos Metal Keychain
A Köttr Mini Plush
The Tapestry of the Fourth
Meanwhile the Digital Collector’s Edition adds the Valhallar Odin Mount, the Entreat Crystal Emote and the Crystal Skyltborg: Bastion Weapon. On Windows and Mac, the Collector’s Bundle, sold in limited quantities exclusively through the Square Enix Store, combines the physical Collector’s Box with a code for the Digital Collector’s Edition. Players on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam can buy the Collector’s Box separately and pre-order the Digital Collector’s Edition on their platform.
