Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood's Nostalgia-Themed Japanese Launch Trailer Streamed

The official Final Fantasy XIV YouTube channel began streaming a trailer for titled "Memories" to correlate with the Stormblood expansion's release. The trailer shows a group of childhood friends who become separated as they get older, but are able to reconnect by playing Final Fantasy XIV together online. The video has both live-action scenes and clips from gameplay.



Stormblood is Final Fantasy XIV's second expansion. The game officially launches Tuesday for PC and PlayStation 4 in Japan, North America, and Europe. A Collector's Edition also launches Tuesday.

The expansion features Ala Mhigo as its backdrop, and the storyline centers on the city's liberation. XIIth Legion Legatus Zenos yae Galvus, who is the ruler of the occupied city, serves as one of the enemies players will face.

The expansion also raises the level cap from 60 to 70 and adds new dungeons, new high-level raids, new alliance raids, and new gear. The expansion also lets players swim and dive, and increases players' inventory size. Other additions include a fourth residential district, new crafting recipes, new areas, a new primal, and changes to the battle system. Nobuo Uematsu composed the theme song for the new expansion.

With the launch of Stormblood, Sony and Square Enix is stopping support for the game for the PlayStation 3. The companies plan to launch an upgrade campaign that "will allow PS3 players to seamlessly join in the battle for Ala Mhigo at launch."

Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV Online for personal computers in September 2010. After criticism from fans, the company revealed an updated version of the game titled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn that added a new world and story. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launched on Windows PC and PS3 in August 2013, and then on PS4 in April 2014. Square Enix released the first expansion for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, titled Heavensward, in June 2015.

Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida stated on June 6 that Square Enix is in talks with Nintendo and Microsoft for a possible port of the game on the Switch and Xbox One consoles. However, Yoshida noted that "these conversations will take a long time."