Square Enix’s 2026 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest opens on Friday, April 24, with the keynote set for 10 a.m. PDT and lasting a little more than two hours. FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida will take the stage for a presentation that fans expect to define what comes next for the game.
The keynote will stream on the FFXIV YouTube channel and the game’s official Twitch channel, and every Fan Fest event will be available there as well. Square Enix is also lining up several events in the 24 hours after the keynote, then closing the convention with a performance from The Primals.
The timing matters because Square Enix is already shifting away from Dawntrail toward whatever comes next, even as the company has not announced or teased any 8.0 news. In 2023, the first Fan Fest revealed the Dawntrail expansion, and this year’s gathering lands just a few days before Dawntrail’s 7.5 update goes live. Square Enix has described 7.5 as Dawntrail’s last major patch, which makes this weekend the place where the next chapter is most likely to begin taking shape.
That is why the question hanging over the keynote is not abstract. Square Enix is expected to provide more detail on Beastmaster and the rest of the 7.5 patch series, but the bigger draw is whether Yoshida will point the game toward a full 8.0 reveal or hold the line on what is already known. The full Fan Fest schedule is posted on the Fan Fest Lodestone page, and the livestreams will carry the whole weekend for anyone watching from home.
