Final Fantasy XIV Evercold expansion releases Feb. 23, 2026

The release date for the Evercold expansion was announced at the third Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Tokyo. Early access begins February 19, and the full launch is set for February 23, 2026. The event also revealed the full cinematic for the patch. A January 2026 window had been announced earlier at the Anaheim event, but the Tokyo keynote confirmed the February dates.

New jobs and level cap

Evercold introduces two new jobs. Bastion is a tank, and Zephyr is a physical ranged DPS that combines crossbow shots with support from an avian familiar. The expansion raises the level cap from 100 to 110.

The new season system, called Seasons, reworks the way players earn rewards and raise item level. The battle system now lets players choose between Reborn Mode, based on the current combat system, and Evolved Mode, which highlights each job’s unique identity. Armoury updates make it easier to play with multiple jobs. The expanded character customization adds a wider range of color options, finer control over eyes and lips, eye shadow, and removable gear components. Customizable action animations let players personalize general and job actions.

Players will explore the Icebound Realm of the Fourth aboard massive airships such as the Realmship of Water, Naglfar, and the Realmship of Fire, Hringhorni. A new city, Fargarth, brings distinctive areas, arcane colossi, and new allies. The expansion adds new dungeons and raid series, including EVANGELION – Ghosts of Desire and Beyond the Lifestream. Eight‑player raids get a new difficulty setting between Normal and Savage. The update also brings a new Ultimate raid, FATEs, hunts, treasure hunts, and new trials.

Evercold also adds auto content balancing, which adjusts field enemy levels, drop rates, and item rewards to match player levels and lets parties of different level ranges match up. PvP updates, duty support enhancements, and chocobo companion overhauls are also part of the update. The overhauls include a new raising system and the ability to call chocobos into dungeons. New gear and crafting recipes are available. Several changes to game design, the battle system, PvP, and duty support can be enjoyed without buying the expansion. The fan theory that the new physical ranged DPS class is represented by the character Visna was confirmed during the Tokyo keynote.