Final Fantasy 14 never ran particularly well on the PlayStation 3, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. Support for this system ended with Stormblood, meaning PS3 players could enjoy the game until the end of Heavensward. It was inevitable, but it lasted a good four years of the PlayStation 4's life cycle, so it could have been worse.
We now know at least a rough estimate of when the PS4 itself will be launched. Rather than any particular graphical aspect – the aging hardware even managed to keep up with Dawntrail's extended updates – it boils down to something much simpler. The console simply won't be able to handle the sheer volume of content in this massively expanded MMO before Patch 8.2 hits.
Two years, give or take
At the Final Fantasy 14 North American Fan Festival today, Naoki Yoshida announced the news, giving PS4 players plenty of time to either buy a PS5, trade in for a PC, or maybe even move on via the newly announced Nintendo Switch 2. It was nice to get there so early and provide a realistic timeline for the expected lifespan of the eighth-gen console.
This means PS4 folks can still enjoy the first big chunks of the upcoming 8.0 expansion, Evercold, also announced at the Fan Festival. Including all the new zones and huge story beats that will undoubtedly appear at launch. 8.1 should be fine too, but I have to point out that Yoshi-P (understandably) left things little freely here. It's possible they'll hit that cap for PlayStation 4 before 8.2. It's the best guess he can give, and it sounds fairly likely.
We always knew it would happen eventually. The PS4 will be roughly 15 years old when this happens, and that's a whole decade and a half of Aldenard, Othard, Ilsabard, Tural, the First, the Fourth, and far across the universe. Not a bad run.
Another foray into Final Fantasy 14 is the Evangelion Crossover
Evangelion is coming to FFXIV.
