Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold Moves to February 2027, Zephyr Job Revealed

Square Enix has dated Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold for Tuesday, February 23, 2027, moving the expansion out of its previous January 2027 launch window. The date was announced during the Tokyo Fan Festival 2026 keynote on October 30 and works out to a delay of roughly four weeks.

Pre-orders open Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Early access is currently scheduled to begin Friday, February 19, 2027 at 1:00 a.m. PST for players who pre-order.

The keynote also revealed Evercold’s second new job: Zephyr, a physical ranged DPS that fights with a crossbow and uses an avian companion for support. Like Bastion, the previously announced tank job, Zephyr is tied to the expansion’s new Evolved Mode battle system.

Evolved Mode is one half of Final Fantasy XIV’s incoming combat overhaul. Players will be able to switch between Reborn Mode, which is based on the current combat system, and Evolved Mode, which Square Enix says is meant to push each job’s identity further. The level cap is also going up from 100 to 110.

Evercold is set aboard the Fourth’s huge Realmships, with new areas tied to Naglfar, Hringhorni, Sessrymnir, and Skiðblaðnir, plus the new cities Fargarth and Hjartadunur. The expansion also brings a new raid series, Beyond the Lifestream, and the alliance raid series EVANGELION – Ghosts of Desire.

Some of the broader 8.0 changes are not locked behind the expansion purchase. Square Enix says players can access updates such as the overarching game design changes, the new battle system, PvP updates, Duty Support updates, and housing updates without buying Evercold.

Other planned additions include a new eight-player raid difficulty called Fierce, placed between Normal and Savage, a Gauntlet of Power duty with up to five dungeon bosses in a row, a new Ultimate raid, expanded character customization, customizable action animations, chocobo companion changes, mount speed sharing, and housing updates across the 8.x patch cycle.

Evercold will be sold in Standard Edition, Digital Collector’s Edition, Collector’s Bundle, and Collector’s Box versions. Square Enix is revealing pre-order bonus items during Fan Festival.

Further reading: Official FFXIV Lodestone: Evercold release date