Summary
Final Fantasy 14players that were holding out hope forFinal Fantasy 10’s Blitzball mini-game to be added to the MMORPG received a resounding denial from game producer and director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida during the keynote address at the North American Fan Fest. After Yoshi-P shot down the idea,Final Fantasy 14players took to social media to express their disappointment in the hopes Yoshida would change his mind later.
The Fan Fest keynote was highlighted bythe reveal ofFinal Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, the game’s fifth expansion since its relaunch as A Realm Reborn. Following the events ofEndwalker, the Warrior of Light and the Scions receive an invitation to the New World, known locally as Tural, in order to take part in a contest of succession to determine Tural’s new ruler. During the keynote, a new tribe was revealed in the form of the Pelupelu, a bird-like race that first appeared inFinal Fantasy 10. The reveal of the Pelupelu as one of the myriad races that inhabit Tural, coupled with the land’s tropical environment, ledFinal Fantasy 14fans to believe that Blitzball would make its way from Spira to Tural.
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However, Yoshi-P shouted, “No Blitzball!” in response to the crowd when he asked them to guess what new attraction would be added to the Manderville Gold Saucer in the near future. Later in the keynote, Yoshi-P revealed that the Gold Saucer would soonhost a collaboration withFall Guysin a future content update. SomeFinal Fantasy 14characters will be added as costumes inFall Guysvia the Warriors of Light Fame Pass, starting August 22. The Gold Saucer update that includes a 24-playerFall Guysobstacle course intoFinal Fantasy 14will be added during the Patch 6.5x cycle in Spring 2024.
While Blitzball remains one ofthe most popular mini-games in theFinal Fantasyseries, fans that were holding out hope for its inclusion took to social media to express their disappointment. While some fans believe the dream to be over, some fans interpreted Yoshida’s denial of Blitzball as a response to the Gold Saucer update that would arrive during theEndwalkerpatch cycle and not as a retort to a planned Gold Saucer update that would occur duringDawntrail. Yoshida added that more updates about theDawntrailexpansion will come in October at the London Fan Fest, and in January at the Tokyo Fan Fest.
With theFall Guyscollaboration coming soon, plusa huge graphical update in theDawntrailexpansion,Final Fantasy 14fans will have plenty of content to take part in soon. Only time will tell if Yoshida and the development team will change their minds about Blitzball or not.
Final Fantasy 14is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5, with an Xbox Series X/S version coming in Spring 2024.
