FFXIV: Evercold dated for February 23 — Zephyr, new raids and an Australian preorder time
Square Enix reveals Evercold’s 2027 launch date, Zephyr's crossbow combat, expansion systems and when preorders open in Queensland.
Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold now has a firm release date: Tuesday, 23 February 2027. Square Enix revealed the date during its 31 October Tokyo Fan Festival keynote, alongside the physical-ranged job Zephyr, the expansion's new battle content and preorder plans. This is an official announcement, not a leak or a hands-on review.
The big dates, including Queensland
| Event | Date or time | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Evercold expansion release | 23 February 2027 | Publisher release date; platform-specific unlock hours are not supplied here |
| Preorders begin | 4 November 2026, 7:00 pm AEST | Converted from Square Enix’s 9:00 am GMT announcement; regional storefront timing may differ |
| Collector's Box | Limited quantities | Physical merchandise only, not a standalone game licence or included expansion code |
The Collector's Bundle for Windows and Mac combines the physical box and a digital Collector's Edition code. Square Enix says people purchasing for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch 2 or Steam should order the physical box and compatible digital edition separately. Check the exact regional listing before buying.
What Zephyr actually does
The new Zephyr is a physical ranged DPS job built around crossbow fire and an avian familiar called Nephele. That's the core description from Square Enix; damage numbers, job balance, rotations and endgame viability are not established by a reveal trailer. Watch the official Zephyr job trailer below for its appearance and animations.
Raids, battle systems and crossovers
Square Enix also announced Beyond the Lifestream, a crossover raid series involving the Final Fantasy VII Remake universe, plus a new trailer for the Evangelion: Ghosts of Desire alliance raid. The announced Fierce raid difficulty sits between Normal and Savage, while high-difficulty eight-player encounters will revisit select alliance-raid bosses.
Other plans include an Evolved Combat Mode to emphasise individual job identities; a Seasons reward structure intended to give players more choice; enhanced character creation and action skins; and expanded housing, PvP and companion-chocobo systems beginning from patch 8.1. These are future features, not a promise that all of them arrive on 23 February.
35 million accounts is not 35 million active players
The publisher reports that Final Fantasy XIV has surpassed 35 million registered accounts globally. That is a cumulative registration milestone, not simultaneous users, active subscriptions or a verified monthly-player figure. Avoid comparing it directly to Steam concurrent-user charts.
What to check before preordering
Confirm whether your platform includes the expansion, which region your account uses, whether early access is listed for that edition, and whether you are viewing a physical Collector's Box or a bundle with digital entitlements. For the primary announcement, see Square Enix's 31 October press release. Its official full expansion trailer is also available directly.
Square Enix / FINAL FANTASY XIV. Official promotional footage, not GameOnCue hands-on testing. Original source ↗ · Watch on YouTube ↗
Poster hosted here; the privacy-enhanced player opens on this site only after Play.
