Final Fantasy 14 never ran particularly well on PlayStation 3, but it was nice while it lasted. Support for that system ended with Stormblood, meaning PS3 players could enjoy the game through to the end of Heavensward. It was an inevitability, but it lasted a good four years into the PlayStation 4’s life cycle, so it could’ve been worse.
We now know, at minimum, a rough estimate on when PS4 itself will get kicked to the curb. Rather than any particular graphical aspect—the aging hardware even managed to keep up with Dawntrail’s widespread updates therein—it’s boiling down to something far simpler. The console will simply be unable to handle the sheer volume of content in this massively-expanded MMO by the time Patch 8.2 rolls around.
Two Years, Give Or Take
At today’s North American Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival, Naoki Yoshida broke the news, giving PS4 players plenty of time to either shell out for a PS5, swap to PC, or perhaps even carry onward via the newly-announced Nintendo Switch 2 version. It was a nice thing to get out there so early, providing a realistic timetable for the eighth-generation console’s predicted life expectancy.
This means PS4 folks can still enjoy the first big portions of the upcoming 8.0 expansion, Evercold, also announced at Fan Festival. Including all the new zones and huge story beats that’ll doubtless pop up with its launch phase. 8.1 should be fine, as well, but I have to emphasize, Yoshi-P did (understandably) leave things a little loose here. It’s conceivable that they’ll hit that upper limit for PlayStation 4 before 8.2. It’s the best estimate that he can provide, and it sounds relatively probable.
We always knew this would happen eventually. The PS4 will be roughly 15 years old when it occurs, and that’s a full decade-and-a-half of Aldenard, Othard, Ilsabard, Tural, the First, the Fourth, and far out across the cosmos. Not a bad run.
Final Fantasy 14’s Next Raid Is An Evangelion Crossover
Evangelion is coming to FFXIV.
