Final Fantasy 16 Reveals Release Date For Rising Tide DLC

To start the second day of PAX East 2024, the Final Fantasy 16 development team revealed that the game's second expansion, The Rising Tide, will launch on Thursday, April 18. The expansion will launch along with a free update for Final Fantasy 16, including some adjustments and a new battle mode for players to try out.

The PAX East panel started with a first look at theRising Tide expansion, with a sneak peek at the new realm of Mysidia. Named after the magical kingdoms of Final Fantasy 2 and Final Fantasy 4, Mysidia is said to be located in the Northern Territories, but not much information was disclosed beyond that. Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida was joined by localization lead Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and DLC director Takeo Kujiraoka for the panel. The developers said that players start The Rising Tide at the Hideaway by reading a mysterious letter that asks for aid in rescuing the Dominant of Leviathan the Lost, the Eikon of Water. Along the way, Clive and his companions will meet a new character called Shula, who will join Clive in battle.

To close out the PAX East panel, Yoshida revealed that The Rising Tide will launch on Thursday, April 18, and it will cost $19.99 as a standalone purchase on the PlayStation Store. However, Final Fantasy 16 players who purchased the Expansion Pass for $24.99 will receive The Rising Tide at no additional cost, as the pass includes access to the game's first DLC, Echoes of the Fallen. In addition to The Rising Tide DLC, Final Fantasy 16 will release Patch 1.30 at the same time as a free update. The update will bring adjustments to the battle system, and players will be able to customize their controller button layouts freely.

Patch 1.30 will also bring a new «Kairos» battle mode for players to try out. Inspired by Final Fantasy 14's deep dungeons such as Palace of the Dead, Kairos is a battle-focused gauntlet that Clive can progress through and gain abilities based on how much progress is made. Yoshida teased that