FF14 Dawntrail will release in July, with early access a few days earlier

An image of the first Hrothgar in Final Fantasy 14 smiling as she regards her home, Tural, in Dawntrail. She is a large lioness-like lady with a bright, optimistic expression: sailing under a clear blue sky.
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail will release on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 with early access a few days earlier on Friday, June 28. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida announced the dates while speaking at PAX East 2024, via a translator. He also announced the pre-order bonuses and collector's edition bonuses to come with the expansion's release.

Those who pre-order will get the early access date on June 28. They'll also get a Wind-up Zidane minion, from Final Fantasy 9, and a pair of Azeyma's earrings to wear—you know, the sun goddess lady.

The collector's edition will come with a Wind-up Garnet minion and the Ark as a mount, both from Final Fantasy 9. There'll also be a chocobo brush for the Pictomancer, the really cool paint wizards coming in Dawntrail.

As for why the release date is July 2? Yoshida said "we figured everybody would be interested in playing the Elden Ring DLC," so they gave you a week "to enjoy that" before Dawntrail comes out.

Dawntrail is the next big expansion for the now quite long-running Final Fantasy 14. Announced last year, it didn't have a release date for quite a long time because producer Yoshida would rather not give a release date than suffer another high-profile delay.

Anyway, I suggest going to watch the Dawntrail trailer if you haven't because it has a chinchilla that is very cute.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.