The release date for the expansion DLC of Final Fantasy XIV, Dawntrail, has been officially revealed, with the director ‘jokingly’ explaining why it was pushed back.

In the Journey to Dawntrail PAX 2024 Panel, Final Fantasy XIV Director Naoki Yoshida revealed the release date for the upcoming expansion, as well as early access and more.

According to the announcement, early access for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is set to release on 28th June 2024, and the full release of the expansion is set for 2nd July 2024.

Furthermore, pre-orders for the expansion will be open starting from 26th March 2024, 9 am JST. Players who pre-order the expansion will receive additional in-game items, those being a Wind-Up Zidane Minion and Azeyma’s Earring.

During the panel, Yoshida also mentioned that the early access for Final Fantasy XIV was originally set for one week earlier, on 21st June 2024. But a certain DLC release stopped him from doing so.

He just calls out the Elden Ring DLC lmao pic.twitter.com/nvO5tJdkYa

— Kaiyoko 💫 (@KaiyokoStar) March 23, 2024

The long-awaited expansion DLC for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, was set to release on that day. As such, Yoshida has gracefully given players one week to play the DLC.

“We figured everybody would be interested in playing the Elden Ring DLC,” Yoshida said through a translator. “I’ll give you one week.”

“So, I’ll give you one week to enjoy Elden Ring DLC, and then go into your summer vacation and then into Dawntrail,” he added. “Just want to make it clear, it’s not because I want to play the Elden Ring DLC and then play Dawntrail, although I am looking forward to it.”

Other games have been speculated to change their release date to avoid releasing with the highly anticipated Elden Ring DLC, such as Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, which shifted their release date to one week earlier. But seeing the director directly call out the DLC is certainly a tasteful addition.