Square-Enix has officially announced that the "Stormblood" expansion for "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn" will release on June 20, 2017. New promotional material has also been released, showcasing some of the new activities and job class that will be available with the launch of the expansion.
The developers made the announcement during the recent "Final Fantasy XIV" Fan Festival. Square-Enix then shared the announcement to the public not present during the event through Twitter, again confirming the June 2017 launch.
"Stormblood" will raise the level cap from 60 to 70 and it will be introducing the Red Mage class option, according to IGN. Like previous "Final Fantasy" games, the Red Mage will be a blend of both White Mage and Black Mage spellcasting abilities and is also capable of holding their own in physical combat.
Some of the new features in the expansion include the ability to dive and swim. The villain Omega has also been confirmed, a boss that has made recurring appearances in past "Final Fantasy" games a secret and difficult boss to defeat.
Also, a new raid "Return to Ivalice" is going to launch with the new expansion. According to Kotaku, the new raid is designed and written by Yasumi Matsuno, who is known for directing both "Final Fantasy Tactics" and "Final Fantasy XII." The latter two games are set in the world of Ivalice.
The new raid will also feature music from acclaimed veteran composer Nobuo Uematsu. Although Uematsu is no longer a contracted employee working for Square-Enix, he has contributed music for several of the new games. Uematsu will be continuing this tradition and will compose the main theme for "Stormblood."
"Stormblood" was first announced back in October. It will also be the final expansion that will be supported on the PS3. "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn" is available for Windows PC, OS X, PS3 and PS4.The official reveal trailer can be viewed below: