Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has been confirmed to be the next expansion of the MMORPG developed by Square Enix.

　　The announcement happened at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are two big platform changes happening with Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, the first of which is the decision to end PlayStation 3 support.

　　Square Enix examined the metrics and noticed a huge migration from PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4. As a token of gratitude for PlayStation 3 players who kept playing Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix will offer a special free PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4 upgrade.

　　The developers also announced that the minimum requirements on PC will be raised, though no further details were provided at the time. While 32-bit OS will still be supported, they've recommended using a 64-bit OS for the best gaming experience.

　　Of course, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is scheduled to bring a huge amount of new content and features. Here's a recap by the official subreddit.

　　Stormblood will explore Ala MhigoMain focus is to regain control of Ala Mhigo from the Garlean Empire20 years have passed since Garleans have had controlMain antagonist to be Zenos Yae Galvus, XIIth Legion Legatus and de facto ruler of Ala MhigoWoman depicted in trailer to potentially be revealed in future 3.X patchWarrior of Light's main job in 4.0 is Monk (akin to DRG for 3.0)Area shown in teaser trailer is Rhalgr's Reach, the HQ of Ala Migho's main resistance.Multiple new jobs to be discussed at future dateYoshi-P wore a t-shirt of Marvel's Scarlet Witch, said that was the only hint he'd give at this timeNew Level Cap: 70 (for all classes)More actions for each job to go with new capRevamped battle system to go with new actionsAdditional Skill System to be overhauled, with skills shared by roles instead of jobs, and can choose from shared role ability optionsReassessment of unused/ineffective actionsExample used is Dragoon's Blood of the Dragon buff, where in 4.0 an icon/gauge showing how much time is left will be better visible on screen so players aren't just staring at the current iconNew Areas to be introduced, comparable in size to Heavensward areasStormblood will be a full standalone game's worth of contentNew Primals to be introduced, including known names and all-new original-to-FF14 ones.New Dungeons to be introduced with new battle and dungeon concepts to be introducedHigh-End Raids to also be added, with possibility of different story depending on difficulty, with normal on odd patches, savage on even (NOTE: I may have transcribed this backwards. Please look forward to more information on it).New Alliance Raids to be added. Big news, but will wait until Tokyo Fan Fest, but will be, "very, very Final Fantasy"Expanded form of Exploration to be introduced: The Forbidden Land of Eureka (they really like FF3!), something different from Diadem and will expand its own entire area, unique to Stormblood. There might even be Notorious Monsters that only appear once every 72 hours.Eureka may also be used for next set of high-end weapons, akin to Relic/Anima, rather than upgrades in "normal areas."New Gear and Recipes, including winners of Fan's Gear Design ContestItem Inventory Expansion (this got the biggest cheers so far), looking to increase "as much as humanly possible." There is uncertainty in how this will be implemented due to the server needs, and it will be addressed in a future Live LetterA 4th Residential Area to be added. Where? "Sorry, can't tell ya."In-game footage of new areas shownScreenshots now being shown of new areasIndications are that Ala Mhigo is crossed via a wall in The Black Shroud, which will be shown in Patch 3.5. Yoshi joked that Dragoon Jump won't work to scale the wall, but that The Warrior of Light has a lot of practice falling off of things.Ala Mhigo will not be just deserts and wasteland. Forests are also part of it.All areas of 4.0 will be accessible by flying mounts, but there was an indication that it will again by quest-based like in 3.0. At groans from the audience, Yoshi said it will be easier than Moogle Quests.Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood has an estimated release date of early Summer 2017 on PC and PlayStation 4. Check out the first teaser trailer below.