Final Fantasy 14's Endwalker expansion has unfortunately been delayed by two weeks, and will now launch on December 7, 2021. Director and producer, Naoki Yoshida wrote a long blog post detailing the reasons for the delay as well as the new launch window schedule. However, while the game has been delayed, we did get its launch trailer.
"I am incredibly sorry to share this so close to launch, but I have decided to postpone the release of Endwalker. The original release date was scheduled for Tuesday, November 23, 2021, but I have decided to delay the release by two weeks," wrote Yoshida. "There are several reasons for the postponement, but as I’m the one overseeing all aspects of the title as the head of the project, the responsibility falls solely on me. Allow me to convey my sincerest apologies to our players, our Warriors of Light around the world who have been looking so forward to the release of Endwalker. I am truly sorry."
The new schedule is as follows:
- Start of Early Access: Friday, December 3, 2021
- Official Release: Tuesday, December 7, 2021
- Patch 6.01 Scheduled Release: Tuesday, December 21, 2021
- Patch 6.05 Scheduled Release: Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Yoshida went on to detail the reasons for the delay. "The biggest factor behind the release date change was my own selfishness as the game’s director. Ever since I was placed in charge of the original FFXIV, I’ve continued the development and operations for FFXIV over the past 11 years while always endeavoring to balance my position as the producer overseeing the project and the director in charge of development. It was my intention to work in this same manner as we approached the final stages of Endwalker’s development."
He mentioned that he, along with the developing team, were constantly finding ways to improve and optimise the "smallest nuances" of the game, and this eventually led to the delay.
"Unfortunately, the consequence of this was that we ended up in a situation where we cut into the time required for final quality assurance checks due to this time spent on additional improvements," he wrote. "At this rate, there was a bigger risk of us reaching the release date without ensuring “stability” as one form of quality, and for that reason, I have decided to postpone the release at this time."
Yoshida requested that fans read his blog post "in full". You can check it out here.