Final Fantasy 9 references in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail are "secret", says director

Yes, there are a lot of references to Final Fantasy 9 in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail's collector's edition… and no, that's not a coincidence.

"You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here… And the reason is a secret," producer/director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida said via translator during his PAX East panel. He then mimed zipping his mouth closed, and steadfastly refused to reveal anything more. The tease.

It's not totally a secret, of course. Some of you may remember that rumours of a remake began when Final Fantasy 9 was one of several unannounced games leaked by the GeForce Now database leak a couple of years back, which also included the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 4, and the Chrono Cross remaster.

With Yoshida refusing to say anymore, all we can do is chalk this up as a rumour for now. However, Yoshida did confirm that once again there will not be a physical disc released for Dawntrail, and the "complicated" editions – there are four in all; standard, digital collector's edition, collector's box, and collector's edition – will be detailed on the official website to help you decide which one you want to buy.

Final Fantasy 14's Dawntrail will release in full on 2nd July, 2024 – the early access will drop one week prior on 28th June – so both you and the Dawntrail development team has "one week" to get through Elden Ring's eagerly anticipated DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.

Talking at PAX East this weekend, producer/director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida teased that the team had hoped to open in early access a week earlier but then… "Elden Ring DLC…"

Dawntrail will follow Endwalker, which was so popular on release the game was taken down from sale. The new expansion features a whole host of returning characters and a tropical, sea-faring setting seemingly inspired by South America.