In a Letter from the Producer released earlier today, Final Fantasy XIV Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida has announced that Patch 5.3 will finally arrive on August 11, 2020.
Originally announced for a June 16 release date, Patch 5.3─Reflections in Crystal will now be coming August 11. The development team tried to make a mid-July release date, but is was ultimately to no avail. This was due to COVID-19 forcing the development team to work from home, as Yoshida noted that their "primarily home-based work system" is now fully operational, but that it also cost them two months of their time.
The patch itself is going to be a doozy, with a ton of features added to the game, such as flying. There should be another Letter From the Producer on July 22, and there will also be interviews and updates released to the 5.3 "special site", so be sure to go to the community site if you want more information on the upcoming patch.
There's also a fun little event that's going on right now if you're a subscriber and want something to do in the meantime. The Moogle Treasure Trove Event will stay live until August 11, so players will have just over a month now to get their items, complete some challenges, and find mysterious relics. If you want more information, be sure to go here.
Quick Take
It's cool to see the Final Fantasy XIV team continue to produce content at a reasonable pace, especially considering how their main competition (coughWoWcough) has been floundering for quite some time now. Releasing patches in a timely fashion will be critical in a post COVID-19 world, as there isn't much to do for a lot of people then grind for battle pets or reputation, or that stupid staff that won't drop because the game hates you.
Either way, it's going to be very curious to see how the world's workforce will react once COVID-19 is done and dusted. We've all proven that we can work from home very effectively, so will that mean that a lot of people will continue to work from home? We'll see.
What do you think of this news? Are you an active subscriber to Final Fantasy XIV? Are you a former subscriber that's thinking of returning? Let us know in the comments!
