Final Fantasy XIV has cancelled its Japanese Fan Festival scheduled for December

This probably comes as no surprise to anyone, but Final Fantasy XIV will not be hosting any fan gatherings this year. The North American Fan Festival scheduled for November had already been cancelled, but amidst all of today’s excitement for the next patch, the team announced that the game’s Japan Fan Festival originally scheduled for December has also been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. This is, of course, the correct move for the safety of the development team, staff organizers, and the fans eager to attend.

Also like the North American festival, rescheduling is currently being investigated, although it’s too early to announce any actual dates. It remains to be seen how this will affect the announcements previously planned for the fan festivals; while the fact of the game’s next expansion has already been confirmed, fans would usually expect the expansion to actually be announced at the fan festival. Still, safety comes first, and in the midst of a global pandemic it’s most important to make sure to not gather huge numbers of people together in close spaces.