FFXIV Fan Fest 2023 – Everything You Need to Know

Find out everything you need to know about the FFXIV Fan Fest 2023.

Final Fantasy XIV's Endwalker expansion is slowly winding down. Recently the game released its 6.4 patch which included the penultimate chapter of the ongoing storyline which is supposed to reach its climax with 6.5 which's first part is expected to release sometime in September/October this year.

But there are more things to forward to! Wrapping up the Void storyline means we'll slowly approach the next expansion of the critically acclaimed MMORPG, 7.0, which has already been teased in the latest patch.

What is the FFXIV Fan Fest 2023?

With more and more players joining Final Fantasy XIV by the day, it has been a long time since the last proper Fan Fest (2019). A reintroduction might be in order.

The FFXIV Fan Fest is a 2-day convention held by Square Enix in each of the game's Data Center regions. North America, Europe, and Japan (Korea and China have separate Fan Fests since they're usually a patch cycle behind the rest of us).

Before the Pandemic, the Fan Fest was a bi-yearly event that aimed to celebrate Final Fantasy XIV and its community and spread information on the newest expansion over three significant events.

The 2023 Fan Fest symbolizes a return to form, in 2021 we had the online Fan Fest around the world which was a 2-day long broadcast that saw the staff of FFXIV interact with fans in-game and via stream.

But don't worry, if you didn't get any tickets or simply can't make it, most of the on-stage activities such as Q&A's with the developers, the Expansion keynotes, and the Cosplay Contest will be broadcasted via live stream.

Fan Fest 2023 Schedual

The 2023 tour of the Fan Fest will take place at three locations all over the world. Broadcast times will be added once they're available. Keep an eye on the Loadstone for more information.

This year will be special though, since it marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of A Realm Reborn, so expect some surprises on top of the usual schedule.

North American Fan Fest 2023

The North American Fan Fest 2023 (Tickets already sold out) will take place from July 28 to July 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

As usual, the show will open with a Keynote address by director and producer Naoki Yoshida. Here we'll learn the first details of the upcoming 7.0 expansion and might even see the reveal of one of the new jobs.

With 7.0 promises to be a huge update to Final Fantasy XIV, including a graphical overhaul on all levels, including reworking the older zones and character models/shaders. Which we expect to be the focus of the event.

Later we'll also get a live Letter from the Producer Live, most likely covering what players can expect from Patch 6.5 which is scheduled to release later this year.

European Fan Fest 2023

The European Fan Fest will take place in London, United Kingdom at the London ExCel convention center from October 21 to October 22. (Tickets already sold out)

This show will kick off with another Keynote address and will most likely be a little lighter when it comes to reveals (like it was in the past). Traditionally here we'll get to see upcoming changes to the battle system, the reveal of the second job coming to FFXIV with 7.0, and a first look at the new zones.

Here we'll most likely also see the reveal of a potential release window for the upcoming expansion. Which by current trends should be sometime between March and May of 2024.

Japanese Fan Fest 2024

Last but not least is the Japanese Fan Feast which takes place from January 7 to January 8 in Tokyo Japan in the legendary Tokyo Dome. (No tickets sold yet)

Here we'll get the full reveal of the CGI cinematic that make Final Fantasy XIV's expansions so iconic to begin with as well as the release date of the expansion. Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida will also present a long-live edition of the Letter from the Producer Live.

There he'll go over everything players can expect for both 7.0 such as the main quest scenario, the graphical changes, new jobs, and changes to existing jobs. We'll also get more details on the upcoming Raid and Alliance Raid tiers and other content that will be implemented in the 7.x patch cycle.

Pre-Orders for the new expansion and their collector's edition will also go live after the keynote, so if you're planning to get one make sure to be ready because those sell out fast.

We'll of course have detailed coverage of all events surrounding Final Fantasy XIV here on ESTNN