As part of a wide-ranging keynote presentation at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest, Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida announced that the PlayStation 4 version of FFXIV will be phased out in the coming years.
Yoshida emphasized that the next expansion, Evercold (which is due January 2027 along with Patch 8.0), will be fully supported on PS4. It will continue with some of the post-launch content updates as well, with him stating, “We currently believe we’ll probably be okay up until about [Patch] 8.3,” which would hit sometime in early 2028.
Yoshida noted that, “While cooperation with Sony’s wonderful engineers has allowed us to limit break a few more times than we thought even possible, but it will soon be impossible to physically contain all of FFXIV on the PS4 hard drive.”
Considering how expansive the game has become, along with the visual overhaul that came with the Dawntrail expansion and Patch 7.0 in 2024, the almost 13-year-old PS4 has been struggling to keep up. There aren’t any changes coming to the system requirements on PC in the near future, but for those still on PS4, Yoshida said, “You got two years to save up for a PlayStation 5!”
In a roundtable interview at FFXIV Fan Fest, Yoshida further explained his comments about the sunsetting of the PS4 version.
“Perhaps it was the way I explained it that may have caused a little bit of [confusion]. While we are going to fully support [Evercold and Patch] 8.0, we did ask for perhaps considering transitioning [to PS5],” Yoshida said. “Some people were mentioning on socials about how we’re going to close down the PS4 service and that’s why [we’re] going to go over to the Switch 2. But that is not the case.”
He continued explaining the team’s plans, saying that “the reason we are looking to transition from PS4 to PS5, or encouraging players to do so, is because of the hardware limitations of the PS4. It’s the size of the game that is the hurdle right now. We are reaching towards the limit of the hardware, considering how large of the capacity and requirements this game has. We are reaching the point where the game is getting so big that the hardware itself will not be able to handle it.”
While it is estimated to at least last through Patch 8.3, which is a ways out, Yoshida said, “Not right away, but we want people to slowly consider transitioning to the PS5. Again we’re not saying that we are going to cease support for the PS4 – that’s another point that we want to emphasize.”
It might be tougher than previous years considering that the PS5 has only gone up in price since its launch almost six years ago, and the cost of PC components haven’t fared any better. However, maybe it’s time we put the aged PS4 to rest, in due time at least.
For more on the critically acclaimed MMORPG, check out my breakdown of the upcoming Switch 2 version of FFXIV, the Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover raid content, and everything you need to know about Evercold.
Michael Higham is an editor at IGN who regularly contributes with reviews, previews, features, and news in written and video form. He’s usually entrusted with covering long RPGs and tech products, but he’s got range when it comes to games. You’ll also catch him at events and hosting video content, including IGN’s weekly podcast Unlocked.
