FFXIV Release Dates: Every Patch & Expansion (2013–2026)

Final Fantasy XIV has shipped 36 major content patches across six expansions since A Realm Reborn relaunched the game on August 27, 2013. The average major patch cycle runs 132 days — roughly four months — but the gaps between expansions have stretched as long as 268 days (the Endwalker → Dawntrail wait) while the shortest mid-expansion cycle ran just 84 days (Patch 2.4 → 2.5). This is every major FFXIV patch with exact release dates, durations, and the expansion-by-expansion cadence that has defined the game’s seasonal model for more than a decade.

Total Major Patches

36 (35 completed + 1 live)

Shortest Cycle

Patch 2.4 → 2.5 · 84 days

Longest Cycle

Patch 6.5 → 7.0 · 268 days

Average Length

~132 days

Current

Patch 7.5 · timer →

Quick answer: FFXIV has run for 36 major patches across six expansions — A Realm Reborn (2.0, 2013), Heavensward (3.0, 2015), Stormblood (4.0, 2017), Shadowbringers (5.0, 2019), Endwalker (6.0, 2021), and Dawntrail (7.0, 2024). The current FFXIV patch timer carries the live estimate and confirmation status for Patch 7.5; this article keeps the completed-patch record stable.

How FFXIV Patches Work

Final Fantasy XIV runs on a two-tier patch model: numbered major patches every four months (X.1, X.2, X.3, X.4, X.5) and sub-patches (X.05, X.15, X.25, X.35, X.45, X.51, X.55) that ship roughly halfway between them. Each numbered expansion (3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) is itself a major patch and the start of a new “X-series” content arc, with the final .5 patch closing the story before the next expansion launches.

The cadence has been remarkably consistent since Heavensward. From Patch 3.0 onward, Square Enix has aimed for a major patch every 3.5–4 months, with the .x5 sub-patch landing roughly halfway through and the .x5x patches adding raid wings, alliance raid bosses, Ultimate fights, and beast tribes. The pattern slips in two predictable places: post-launch Year 1 patches run slightly longer (Heavensward’s 3.1 took 140 days, Endwalker’s 6.1 took 126), and the pre-expansion .5 patch consistently runs the longest at 175–268 days because Square Enix needs to align it with the next paid expansion’s marketing and beta window.

What changes patch-to-patch: a continuation of the main scenario quest (MSQ), one normal raid tier (.0, .2, .4 — eight bosses across six months), one alliance raid (.1, .3, .5), at least one trial (Extreme), a new Ultimate fight in the .x5 cycles, beast tribe / Hildibrand / custom delivery questlines, and crafter/gatherer relic updates. What carries over: every job unlock, every mount, every glamour, every minion, your retainer ventures, and the full MSQ history. Nothing in FFXIV’s seasonal model resets — every patch is additive, which is the major structural difference from the Battle Pass MMOs.

All FFXIV Patch & Expansion Release Dates: Complete Table

Every major FFXIV patch from A Realm Reborn through the current Dawntrail cycle, newest first. Durations are calculated as the gap to the next major patch — so the “duration” of Patch 7.5 will be set once Patch 8.0 ships.

Patch 7.5 Trail to the Heavens

Patch 7.5 is the fifth and final major content patch of the Dawntrail expansion, focused on Myste’s concluding arc in the main scenario quest. The headline content arrived in sub-patch 7.51 (June 2, 2026): the Dancing Mad (Ultimate) raid against Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy VI, and a new Cosmic Exploration destination, Aleria. Sub-patch 7.55 and the final Dawntrail update, Patch 7.56 with the Beastmaster limited job and the Dawntrail MSQ conclusion, follow later in the cycle. Patch 7.5 ends whenever Patch 8.0 ships; Square Enix has not announced that date. The current FFXIV patch timer tracks the latest confirmed milestones.

The Dawntrail era (7.0 – 7.5)

Dawntrail launched June 27, 2024 and has held the most consistent patch cadence in FFXIV’s history. Every major patch from 7.0 through 7.5 has run 133–138 days — a tight four-month window. This is the first FFXIV expansion to ship every major patch on its planned schedule with no externally-forced delay. Patch 7.0 introduced two new jobs (Viper and Pictomancer), the new continent of Tural, and the first FFXIV expansion built natively for the Dawntrail-era graphics update. Patch 7.1 began Myste’s arc, 7.2 launched the Cosmic Exploration system, 7.3 added FRU’s Echoes alliance raid story, 7.4 ran the second major MSQ pivot, and 7.5 closes the expansion.

The Endwalker era (6.0 – 6.5)

Endwalker (Dec 7, 2021) is structurally identical to Stormblood and Shadowbringers — five major patches across roughly two years, then a long wait for the next expansion. The mid-expansion patches ran 126–140 days each, the standard FFXIV rhythm. The outlier is the 268-day gap between Patch 6.5 (Growing Light) and Patch 7.0 (Dawntrail) — the longest pre-expansion wait in FFXIV history, driven by Square Enix’s decision to fully retool the engine for the graphics update that shipped with Dawntrail. Endwalker also produced Anabaseios (the most recent raid tier of the expansion in 6.4), the Pandæmonium Ultimate-equivalent The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) in Patch 6.31, and the Eden’s Promise alliance raid conclusion.

The Shadowbringers era (5.0 – 5.5)

Shadowbringers (Jul 2, 2019) is widely considered FFXIV’s narrative peak and shipped during one of the most disrupted content cycles in the game’s history. The expansion’s mid-cycle ran the standard 112–119 days per patch, but Patch 5.2 → 5.3 stretched to 175 days because COVID-19 forced the Japanese development team to delay Patch 5.3 from late May to August 11, 2020. The final patch (5.5 Death unto Dawn) then ran 238 days before Endwalker — the second-longest pre-expansion wait — because the Endwalker launch was itself delayed two weeks. Shadowbringers introduced the Bozjan Southern Front large-scale content, Eden raid series, and the cap on the .x5 sub-patch model that Dawntrail still uses today.

The Stormblood era (4.0 – 4.5)

Stormblood (Jun 20, 2017) was the most metronomic expansion in FFXIV history: every patch from 4.0 through 4.4 ran almost exactly 112 days apart, with Patch 4.5 stretching to 175 days to align with Shadowbringers’ July 2019 launch. Stormblood added the Omega raid tier, the Return to Ivalice alliance raid (designed in collaboration with Yasumi Matsuno of FFT/FFXII fame), the Eureka large-scale exploration zone, and the first iteration of the Bozjan-style relic weapon grind. The cadence Stormblood established became the template every subsequent expansion has followed.

The Heavensward era (3.0 – 3.5)

Heavensward (Jun 23, 2015) was FFXIV’s first paid expansion and the moment the game’s cadence locked in. After a slightly longer 140-day runway to Patch 3.1, the expansion settled into a 105–112-day rhythm for 3.2 through 3.4, then a 154-day stretch into Stormblood. Heavensward introduced the Alexander raid series, the Diadem exploratory zone, flying mounts, and three new jobs (Dark Knight, Astrologian, Machinist). It’s also where Square Enix introduced the .x5 sub-patch model — Patch 3.15 added Dark Knight content, 3.25 added Anima relic, 3.45 added Anima upgrades, and so on.

The A Realm Reborn era (2.0 – 2.5)

A Realm Reborn launched August 27, 2013 as the full relaunch of the failed 1.0 version of FFXIV. The 2.x patch cycle ran tighter than any expansion since: Patch 2.1 (A Realm Awoken) shipped just 112 days after 2.0, and Patch 2.4 → 2.5 is the shortest gap in FFXIV history at 84 days. The 2.x era introduced Crystal Tower (FFXIV’s first alliance raid), Coil of Bahamut (the original eight-player raid series), the Hunts system, and the foundation of every retainer / gathering / crafting system the game still uses. Patch 2.5 was split into two halves — Before the Fall Part 1 (Jan 20, 2015) and Part 2 (Mar 31, 2015) — to bridge the gap to Heavensward, the only time Square Enix has used a split-release model.

Release Cadence: How Long Between FFXIV Release Dates

Longest patch cycles

• Patch 6.5 → 7.0 Dawntrail — 268 days. The longest gap between major patches in FFXIV history, driven by the engine rewrite that shipped with Dawntrail.
• Patch 5.5 → 6.0 Endwalker — 238 days. Endwalker was delayed two weeks from its November 2021 target to December 7, 2021, extending an already long pre-expansion wait.
• Patch 5.2 → 5.3 — 175 days. COVID-19 forced Square Enix to delay Patch 5.3 by roughly two months, the only mid-expansion patch delay caused by external disruption.
• Patch 4.5 → 5.0 Shadowbringers — 175 days. Standard pre-expansion runway.
• Patch 2.5 → 3.0 Heavensward — 154 days. First-ever paid expansion launch.
• Patch 3.5 → 4.0 Stormblood — 154 days. Mirror image of the 2.5 → 3.0 gap.

Shortest patch cycles

• Patch 2.4 → 2.5 — 84 days. The shortest gap between major patches in FFXIV history, a single-quarter turnaround during the A Realm Reborn era.
• Patch 2.1 → 2.2 — 100 days. The early A Realm Reborn cadence was the tightest the game has ever run.
• Patch 2.2 → 2.3 — 103 days.
• Patch 3.1 → 3.2 — 105 days (tied with 3.2 → 3.3).

Average patch duration by expansion

• A Realm Reborn (2.x): ~111 days per major patch
• Heavensward (3.x): ~121 days
• Stormblood (4.x): ~123 days
• Shadowbringers (5.x): ~141 days (skewed by the 5.2 → 5.3 COVID delay and the pre-Endwalker stretch)
• Endwalker (6.x): ~167 days (skewed by the 268-day Dawntrail wait)
• Dawntrail (7.x so far): ~134 days

The mid-expansion cadence (ignoring pre-expansion .5 patches) has been remarkably stable at 112–138 days across every expansion since Heavensward, which is why the four-month FFXIV patch rhythm has become the most predictable content cycle in the MMORPG genre.

The two-act expansion pattern

Every FFXIV expansion since Heavensward has followed the same structural pattern: an opening .0 patch that introduces the new continent and jobs, four mid-expansion .1–.4 patches at roughly four-month intervals that deliver two normal raid tiers plus an alliance raid, and a closing .5 patch that runs longer (175–268 days) to bridge the gap to the next expansion. Sub-patches (.x5, .x55) ship roughly halfway through each major patch and deliver Ultimate raids, beast tribes, and PvP Series updates. Dawntrail (7.x) is the first expansion to hold to this pattern within a few days across every patch — Square Enix has visibly tightened scheduling discipline since the COVID-era disruptions of Shadowbringers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the release dates of all FFXIV expansions?

A Realm Reborn released on August 27, 2013; Heavensward on June 23, 2015; Stormblood on June 20, 2017; Shadowbringers on July 2, 2019; Endwalker on December 7, 2021; and Dawntrail on June 27, 2024. The full patch-by-patch release date table above covers every major patch between them.

How many FFXIV patches have there been?

Final Fantasy XIV has shipped 36 major patches since A Realm Reborn launched on August 27, 2013 — six per expansion across six expansions (A Realm Reborn through Dawntrail). Including sub-patches (.x5, .x55, .x56), the total exceeds 100 individual content updates. The open interval is shown in the table and tracked on the FFXIV timer.

How long do FFXIV patches last?

Mid-expansion FFXIV major patches run 112–140 days (roughly four months). Pre-expansion .5 patches run longer — typically 154–238 days — because Square Enix uses that window to align with the next paid expansion’s launch. The longest gap in FFXIV history is Patch 6.5 → 7.0 Dawntrail at 268 days; the shortest is Patch 2.4 → 2.5 at 84 days, during the A Realm Reborn era.

What was the longest FFXIV patch cycle ever?

The longest gap between major FFXIV patches is Patch 6.5 Growing Light → Patch 7.0 Dawntrail at 268 days (October 3, 2023 to June 27, 2024). The delay was driven by Square Enix’s decision to ship a full graphics engine update alongside Dawntrail. The second-longest is Patch 5.5 → 6.0 Endwalker at 238 days, when Endwalker itself was delayed two weeks from its original November 2021 target.

Does FFXIV have a battle pass or seasonal reset?

No. Final Fantasy XIV does not have a paid seasonal battle pass and does not reset progression between patches. The game is subscription-based (~$12.99–14.99/month) and every patch is purely additive — jobs, mounts, gear, MSQ progress, and unlocked content all carry forward permanently. The only free reward track is the PvP Series, which awards cosmetics and mounts for completing PvP battles each major patch cycle.

For more season trackers across the MMORPG and live-service genre, browse the SeasonTimer blog — including the complete World of Warcraft season history and our breakdown of every Destiny 2 season and expansion. For the current FFXIV patch countdown, see the Final Fantasy XIV timer.

Sources: Square Enix Lodestone patch notes, Final Fantasy XIV official patch history archive, and the SeasonTimer FFXIV records. Last updated July 17, 2026.