August 27 marked the 12th anniversary of the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and to celebrate the milestone, Naoki Yoshida has posted a small video as a thank you to everyone who has helped achieve this landmark. But the major announcement Yoshi-P dropped is that Final Fantasy Fanfest will be returning in 2026 in multiple regions.
Fanfest is a celebration around the world, allowing fans to get to participate in many different ways to celebrate the game, from special boss fights to unique real-life mini-games. I have been lucky enough to attend the UK and NA Fanfest events in the past.
Square Enix announced not only the North American fanfest, but also that for the first time it will not be in Vegas but instead will travel to Anaheim, California. This will no doubt will be a nice change of pace for some, as the heat in Vegas during some of the previous events was pretty intense.
The dates are as follows:
- Anaheim, California, Anaheim Convention Centre, April 24th/25th, 2026
- Berlin, Germany, Messe Berlin, Hub27, July 25/26th, 2026
- Tokyo, Japan, Makuhari Messe, October 31st, 2026/November 1st, 2026.
Ticket sales have not gone live yet, and the information on how to get the tickets will be announced at a later date.
One key thing to remember is that the latest expansion for Final Fantasy XIV will be announced during the Fanfest. I’m a little disappointed but not shocked that the North America Fanfest is first again; the first Fanfest often has the least amount of announcements, so it would have been nice if they got the chance to be second sometime in the future.
With patch 7.3 packed with so much content, and the Monster Hunter Wilds collaboration due in the next few months, plus other content too such as Deep Dungeon Pilgrim’s Traverse, Relic and Hildabrand, there’s more than enough to keep Final Fantasy XIV fans busy until Fanfest! I personally hope to attend the event in Germany; I have never been to the country before, so it will be an interesting experience.