July 2022

Is Netflix down right now? That is the question on everyone’s mind, as the popular streaming platform that is home to millions has many scratching their heads at the moment. Here is everything you need to know about if it is down and how to check server status if it is.

Is Netflix Down Right Now?

At the moment, Netflix is currently reporting higher outages than usual. This all started at 12:00 AM EST last night, and then increased considerably at 3:00 AM EST, as Down Detector showed that over 10,000 reports had been filed. The first timeframe coincides with the release of the highly anticipated Stranger Things 4 Volume 2, meaning that the high volume of people trying to watch it likely overloaded the servers.

According to our UK editors, this seems to be something that is only plaguing the United States at the moment. Netflix has yet to state anything about the issue on social media, as they continue to promote the release of Stranger Things 4 Volume 2 on Twitter.

When we have more info on the fix, we will be sure to update you accordingly. For now, that is everything you need to know on how to check the server status for Netflix to see if it is down.

While you wait, be sure to check out all of our other Netflix-related content below. That includes plenty of great features, news, guides, and quizzes about the platform that fans and newcomers alike will surely love.

Today Bandai Namco released a brand new gameplay trailer of its upcoming JRPG Digimon Survive.

The trailer showcases the way conversation choices will influence the branching story and even the evolutions of our Digimon.

You can also converse with enemies and the correct answers may convert them to your cause.

We then get to see battle gameplay including the ability to use training items, positional attacks, and more.

Last, but not least, we take a look at Digivolution.

You can enjoy the trailer below.

Digimon Survive will release for PS4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC on July 29, 2022.

If you’d like to see more, you can take a look at the previous trailer focusing on the story, and another from Japan.

Digimon Survive is the latest entry of the popular Digimon Series, which debuted in 1999 on the original PlayStation with Digimon World. It has since generated a ton more games including the Digimon Story sub-series and tons of spin-offs.

A tip: If you’re playing Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, stick with the “classic” mode, whatever happens. C’mon. Despite its musou trappings, Three Hopes is still a Fire Emblem game, with all the life-or-death stakes and high-minded strategizing that entails.

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Because I live in New York City, my primary enemy is the rats. I face them daily—they run their greasy bodies around mounds of hot garbage and shit all over my apartment’s welcome mat. But via their appearances in games, I want to work on our relationship, and everyone knows that ranked slideshows are the most ideal…

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While I’ve been down in the hardware mines, searching for the best early Amazon Prime Day deals and choking on consumer advice fumes, Graham has been working on how to make this list a little more colourful and readable. Behold, then, our new-look guide to saving some cash on your next component or peripheral upgrade – even before Prime Day 2022 itself, which will run July 12th-13th.

What’s more, you won’t need an Amazon Prime account for any of these, unlike most of the big deals that launch on the 12th. Amazon’s Prime Day landing page might already point to various bits of discounted PC hardware but you won’t be limited to the big A alone, as plenty of rival retailers will be running their own, competing sales. I've included some of the best early non-Amazon deals right here, and I’ll eventually post a full anti-Prime Day deals guide for those who’d rather avoid Amazon entirely.

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The house cat. Felis destructus. Humankind's absolute best mate and undisputed master. Some upcoming video games are planning to examine the motives behind these enigmatic creatures, whose origins remain unknown. Stray will put you in the paws of a street cat finding their way home in a cyberpunk city. Little Kitty Big City will see you wearing the whiskers of a cat less concerned with going home than it is with wreaking urban havoc. But what if you don't want to wait for these games? Well, you have options. Here are 10 of the best cats in PC games.

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The arrival of Monster Hunter Rise's Sunbreak expansion has brought a swathe of quality of life improvements to Capcom's beast-bashing action game, including support for Nvidia's performance-boosting DLSS tech. Announced earlier this week as part of the game's 10.0.2 patch notes, enabling DLSS does bring some welcome frame rate improvements to proceedings, but it also, err... has the rather unexpected side effect of shaving off everyone's hair / fur. And in a game about felling all manner of feathery, scaly lizard animals, that's not exactly ideal.

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Back in April, Ed advocated that more games should adopt anime-style openers. I come to you today with another proposal. In addition to, or perhaps instead of, anime openers, I put it to you that more games should celebrate their launch days with live action music videos - and after watching Capcom's freshly unveiled "Matsuken Sunbreak" vid for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, I think you'll heartily agree.

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The next patch for Final Fantasy 14 will include a new Island Sanctuary farming sim mode.

Revealed in today's Letter from the Producer stream, the new mode will be "relaxing solo content" that allows players to gather resources, care for creatures, build facilities, and earn special currency to purchase items.

Patch 6.2 will be called Buried Memory and is set for release in late August 2022.

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The Quarry's community has come up with a way for players to get hold of the Hard Pass accolade across platforms, something that was seemingly unobtainable due to a known issue.

Publisher 2K revealed last month that there was an issue "causing the Hard Pass achievement/trophy to not be rewarded as intended". The team is looking to get this sorted in an upcoming patch, but until then, players looking to get this award can trick the game into working as it should.

General warning, there are some small spoilers for The Quarry below.

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Twitch is making some major changes to its tagging system, allowing streamers to more accurately define their content.

The changes were revealed in a new Twitch Patch Notes stream that detailed forthcoming features.

The tag system will soon be updated so that streamers can create custom tags. What's more, the maximum limit will increase from five to 10.

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One of the most baffling technical mysteries of the last console generation is simply this: why is that every From Software title on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One stutters so noticeably? From the studio's 2014 PS4 debut - Bloodborne - through to this year's Elden Ring, From Software's 30fps frame-rate solution just doesn't look or feel right on any of its games.

At Digital Foundry, we call this phenomenon 'inconsistent frame-pacing' - where even if you're getting 30 new frames per second, the staccato, inconsistent delivery of each new frame gives the illusion of much lower performance. But here's the thing: unofficial patches for every From game exist for hacked PlayStation 4s and astonishingly, it's a simple, rudimentary code fix. I've tested these patches - and they work, producing a far smoother, stutter-free effect. All of which made me wonder, why hasn't From Software fixed its own games if it's this simple. Are there any catches to these patches?

I first heard about this story from noted From Software 'code archeologist' Lance McDonald, creator of the Bloodborne 60fps patch we've seen running flawlessly via back-compat on PlayStation 5. He was highlighting the work of a hacker called Illusion, whose blog contains a wealth of patches for unlocking performance on a vast range of PlayStation 4 titles, or quality of life improvements such as - yes - frame-pacing fixes for every PS4 From Software title.

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The July 2022 FFVII Remake calendar is here, and people will be looking at Reno and Rude all month. The two members of the Turks star in all of Square Enix's images. These are available for both PCs and mobile devices.

Here are the July 2022 FFVII Remake images. They're also a bit of a spoiler. The picture comes from a late-game encounter with Reno and Rude.
[gallery columns="2" ids="931455,931456" link="file"]

Reno and Rude mark the first FFVII Remake calendar to showcase villains. The ones that appeared previously in 2022 all starred heroes. Cloud, Barret, Aerith, and Tifa showed up first. The May 2022 one featured Red XIII. In June 2022, people got to look at Yuffie for a month.

It is incredibly common for companies to release monthly calendars with characters on them. For example, HoYoVerse does this with both Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for the PlayStation 4, while FFVII Remake Intergrade is out on the PlayStation 5 and PC.

There’s a new Digimon Survive gameplay trailer, and it shows how the affinity and conversation elements in the game work. This is essentially a visual novel and tactical game rolled into one. However, the choices you make can also affect how battles go.

The Digimon Survive gameplay trailer begins by showing off conversation choices and how those can alter affinity or karma. In one segment, Takuma encounters a Fangmon. He’s wondering if they are going to die. He has three options to choose from there. He can stand up, shout, or offer encouragement. The segment shows him choosing to stand up, which influences “moral.” In another section, Takuma is talking with Aoi. The two are working out what route to take. By checking with her, the affinity between the two of them goes up to improve their relationship.

In another segment, it shows how conversations in battle can affect the situation in Digimon Survive. If you talk with an ally, it can do things like increase movement and boost stats. It also offers a peek at an Etemon enemy conversation. Takuma has four possible responses. Choosing “Yes, pretty please!” allows him to make Etemon his friend or get items from the character.

The latest Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer Live broadcast introduced an entirely new type of dungeon content, which will be introduced following August 2022's Patch 6.2 update. Called Variant Dungeons, the new FFXIV activities will offer a new approach to difficulty and choice. Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida detailed the concept behind FFXIV Variant Dungeons on the stream. They were previously introduced in the post-Endwalker content roadmap as "Criterion Dungeons".

Variant Dungeons are variable-difficulty FFXIV dungeons designed for solo play or in parties of up to four. They're meant for casual play, and have no role restrictions. This means you can bring four tanks, four DPS, four healers, or any combination of jobs to the dungeon. They'll even allow mid-dungeon changes of job. Enemy strength in a Variant Dungeon will be based on party size. Variant Dungeons also have multiple pathways of progression, with branches based on player actions.

The first FFXIV Variant Dungeon is called The Sil'dihn Subterrane. Players will explore it with "a certain somebody" and will experience a different story based on their choices. They'll be able to replay the dungeon to see different outcomes and paths.

Square Enix runs a FFVII Remake Revisited series. Each one involving behind-the-scenes insights from developers regarding different characters and chapters. The latest features some insights about Tifa in FFVII Remake, including that she almost had a playable section as she went to deal with Don Corneo.

This detail actually came up in a section in which both Scenario Design Co-Director Motomu Toriyama and Co-Director Game Design/Programming Naoki Hamaguchi talked about Cloud not being able to head into Avalanche’s hideout in Seventh Heaven. The two mentioned this was to show how he was just a mercenary and not “part” of the group. However, they then said people almost were able to visit that basement as Tifa in FFVII Remake.

Here’s the full response from Toriyama and Hamaguchi.

In Chapter 3 Cloud is more distant from the Avalanche members than he was in the original game, so we made it that he was not allowed into their underground hideout. Having group meetings that only full Avalanche members are invited to and Cloud being left out in the celebration of the successful bombing mission etc. depicted the loneliness of his situation.

Sega just announced via press release that Phantasy Online 2: New Genesis will finally come for PS4 in the west.

The release will happen on August 31, 2022, finally opening the game to a new audience after the original western release only happened for Xbox and PC.

Strangely, the Japanese version has always been available for PS4 and Nintendo Switch (via cloud) in Japan. At the moment, there is no word about possible launches of the Switch cloud service in the west.

Players on PS4 will immediately have access to all the content released on Xbox and PC, including the new and snowy Kvaris region and the Waker class that has been revealed this week.

If you’re wondering, full cross-play will be enabled with Xbox and PC, so players on all platforms will be able to play together.

Of course, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will be free-to-play on PS4 as it is on other platform, with the optional abundant dosage of available optional microtransactions.

On top of that, this also means that the original Phantasy Star Online 2 will be made available in English on PS4 as well, bringing the whole experience to Sony’s console.

To celebrate the new release, an art exhibition is being hosted at Anime Expo 2022 in Los Angeles, including concept art, figurines, and more artwork.

The publisher also has a themed photo booth that promises to transport Anime Expo attendees into the world of PSO2:NGS.

Attendees will also receive a code to redeem in-game items like ARKS Expo shirts, a mag form, an emote, and a sticker. 

Below you can check out the key artwork for the PS4 release.

Today third-party developers had juicy news to share about upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons and an airport release.

We start with the Airbus A350-1000 in development at Digital Flight Dynamics.

We get to take a look at new work-in-progress renders of both the flight deck and the exterior, on top of the aircraft within the actual simulator, and it’s quite impressive.

At the moment, we still don’t have a release date for this project which will be freeware and open source.

If you’d like to follow the project, you can find the developers on their own Discord server.

Next is a development update with plenty of screenshots of the F-4J Phantom II by DC Designs.

We love Bob’s Burgers, you love Bob’s Burgers, everyone loves Bob’s Burgers! Well… except for Fischoeder… and Jimmy Pesto, but everyone else does. While the Belcher family and lovable sixth member of the family, Teddy, are often at the forefront of the show’s gags, there’s a running one that often is just there in the background. The Bob’s Burgers specials board, despite some moments in the limelight, is often just there in the background of the episode, providing a mighty fine pun or two along the way.

So, what better way to put your knowledge and levels of obsession to the test, than by seeing whether or not you can pull out the real Bob’s Burgers specials from ones we’ve just completely made up. They’re good, too. So good that even Bob himself would be proud.

So, start the quiz below, and for each burger, either answer true — that it was a real special — or false — that it’s one of our brilliant, fabricated fake ones to throw you off. How many will you get? Take the quiz and let us know how you get on in the comments below.

I’ll admit that, until yesterday, I had no idea Fire Emblem Heroes was still active and updated. But a lot of people are still playing the game and apparently spending money on it, too. New data shows that Fire Emblem Heroes has just reached $1 billion in revenue, becoming the first Nintendo mobile game to do so.

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In the wake of Roe v. Wade being struck down last week, many employees at Skyrim maker Bethesda Game Studios and its parent company ZeniMax Media have grown increasingly frustrated by what they see as their employer’s unwillingness to clearly support employees’ access to reproductive healthcare. This is an especially…

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Technoblade (or Techno for short), a popular Minecraft YouTuber and internet personality with over 11 million followers on the video-creating platform, passed away on June 30 after losing his battle against cancer. He was just 23 years old.

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It’s been a while since Electronic Arts was the video game villain of the moment, but on Thursday the FIFA publisher sucked up all the oxygen in the room thanks to a bad joke made even worse by the company’s cutthroat history. If there’s one gaming mega corporation out there who shouldn’t have been taking casual shots…

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Microsoft, the company that brought us furry Sonic controllers and a Far Cry 6 console that resembled a bomb, has unveiled its latest kooky Xbox Series X sweepstakes, and it may be the coolest/dumbest one yet.

Hot on the heels of the premier of Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8, the company is giving away a custom Series X modeled after Thor’s trusty hammer, Mjölnir. That means the console looks like a big, cracked slab of dwarven-crafted uru that still channels electricity and may or may not be liftable depending on if you’re worthy. It's hard to tell if that handle is real or simply edited into the photo for full effect, but you should probably assume the worst (best?) when considering making space for this thing. 

The contest begins today and concludes on July 21. To enter, you just need to follow the Xbox Twitter account and retweet #ThorLoveandThunderXboxSweepstakes. You can read the full contest rules here.

As part of its Anime Expo 2022 showings, Good Smile Company showed off both the Hades Thanatos Nendoroid and Zagreus Pop Up Parade figure. In each case, the items are prototypes currently in development. Thanatos is the further along of the two. His figure appeared as a painted prototype. As for Zagreus, his only showed up as an unpainted prototype.

First, here's how the Hades Thanatos Nendoroid will look. He'll arrive carrying his scythe.

Anime Expo 2022 Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
Hades
Nendoroid Thanatos

Stay tuned to for more info!#Hades #goodsmile #AX2022 #GSCatAX2022 pic.twitter.com/gjJ51vMhJ4

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) July 1, 2022

Next, here's how the Hades Zagreus Pop Up Parade figure will look. He's going to be wielding a sword for this figure.

Anime Expo 2022 Figure Update!

Good Smile Company Street Fighter Chun-li and Cammy figures showed up at Anime Expo 2022. The company revealed both will join its Pop Up Parade line. However, they're at different stages of development. The Chun-Li figure is further along, and a painted prototype showed up. However, Cammy is still in the unpainted prototype phase.

First, here's the Street Fighter Chun-li Pop Up Parade figure.

Anime Expo 2022 Figure Update!

Max Factory
Street Fighter
POP UP PARADE Chun-Li

Stay tuned to for more info!#StreetFighter #goodsmile #AX2022 #GSCatAX2022 pic.twitter.com/9vJJrGWXxT

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) July 1, 2022

Next, this is the unpainted Street Fighter Cammy figure.

Anime Expo 2022 Figure Update!

Max Factory
Street Fighter
POP UP PARADE Cammy

People have a new way to take older Ace Attorney games with them on the go. Capcom released Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy on Android and Apple iOS devices worldwide. It is $22.99 on Google Play. The App Store version is $24.99.

These three titles cover all of Phoenix Wright’s early adventures. The earliest of these stories got their start on the Game Boy Advance in Japan. Since then, they’ve been ported to multiple platforms worldwide. Everyone who buys the collection will get Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations on their Android and Apple iOS devices.

The announcement also included a few details about languages and other features. The games are all in HD now. They also all have 10 save slots, so you can keep track of multiple playthroughs. The official language options are English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is out now for Android and Apple iOS devices. You can also find it on the 3DS, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC.

Work is coming along on the Skullgirls Valentine Nendoroid, and Good Smile Company offered a peek at her at Anime Expo 2022. An unpainted prototype of the character appeared. In it, she’s wearing her usual nurses’ outfit and carrying a saw.

Here's a closer look at the upcoming Skullgirls figure. The initial announcement only offered a peek at her concept art.

Did you miss me?

Anime Expo has just begun and @GoodSmile_US just revealed Valentine's new updated Nendoroid design!

Stay tuned for more info!#SkullgirlsAnimeExpo #goodsmile #Skullgirls #AX2022 #GSCatAX2022 pic.twitter.com/vLjgJOf8O2

— Skullgirls (@Skullgirls) July 1, 2022

The Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer Live LXXI meant new details about upcoming features. The FFXIV Island Sanctuary will arrive in late August 2022 with 6.2. Once it arrives, people will need to build their own place on an island and engage in different kinds of casual gameplay alone. It essentially seems like a sort of farming life sum space.

The first part of the overview established this is purely a single-player affair. Someone who comes there will be able to have their own space. People can build facilities, grow crops, tend animals, and get materials for crafting. All of the items you get there will be only available on the island. They’ll also be able to be used for tools, which can make gathering easier. All items are stored in their own inventory. To get island-specific currency, you can craft handicrafts and export ones most in-demand. You can also let your Wind-Up Minions roam around the space.

While the FFXIV Island Sanctuary will be a single-player space, other people can stop by. Players can invite friends and Free Company members to their island. They can also go to other people’s islands to see what their buildings and Wind-Up Minions look like.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. The Island Sanctuary and Variant Dungeons will appear in FFXIV patch 6.2 in late August 2022.

Though Patch 6.2 of Final Fantasy XIV is bringing a fair amount of brand-new activities for its players, the ongoing drive to revamp existing content continues. The July 1, 2022 Letter from the Producer's Live broadcast teased that a number of duties related to the Main Scenario Quest in FFXIV: Heavensward (Patch 3.0) will see improvements.

The goal of the FFXIV Heavensward improvements is to make the game experience better for players that want to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV as more of a single-player game. In earlier Live Letters, Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida noted that many players raised on the single-player Final Fantasy games shy away from trying FFXIV due to its multiplayer nature. The Main Scenario Quest improvements are targeted at making the main story more welcoming to players intimidated by the prospect of playing with others.

Earlier patches revamped content from the A Realm Reborn era to incorporate Duty Support, a way for solo players to take NPC party members into certain dungeons that are part of the Main Scenario Quest. These include the famous Praetorium. Now the Duty Support system is extending to story-important FFXIV Heavensward activities as well.

The list of dungeons with Duty Support compatibility is as follows:

Rather than focusing on one character, the latest JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R video reveals three new ones. This rerelease of the game will include a number of folks not in the original game. Now, we know Yukako Yamagishi, Foo Fighters (FF), and another Jotaro Kujo will be present in this JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fighting game.

All three appear at the end of the newest trailer for the game. At the 1:28 mark, an image with the new, hidden characters shatters in three spots. That's when the new folks show up.

Yukako Yamagishi comes from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. Her Stand is Love Deluxe. She’s also known for her obsession over Koichi Hirose. Love Deluxe allows Yukako to attack enemies with her hair.

This new version of Jotaro Kujo also appeared in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. Once again, he appears with his Stand Star Platinum.

Foo Fighters, also referred to as FF in the localizations, is one of Jolyne Cujoh's allies in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. Their situation is unique, though you could also consider them a Stand user.

Here's the list of other characters who appeared in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R trailers so far.

There's no rule, but I try to cover things here that haven't already been poached by, for example, Graham last year. Sanabi is far too good to overlook, though.

I've nothing against 2D platformers, but to stand out in such a saturated genre you really need to capture something special. Wonder Potion have more or less nailed both the tricky but rewarding platforming, grappling, and baddie smacking parts of their formula, and perhaps more impressively, the story parts as well. This is a game with character, and the storytelling chops to make the most of its relatively simple ideas.

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Need to know how to start the Vykas Legion Raid in Lost Ark? This challenging new Raid is all the rage in Smilegate and Tripod Studio’s MMORPG, as players test their might in the hopes of earning some great rewards. Here is everything you need to know about how to start it.

Before we dive too deep into the requirements, it is important to note that the Vykas raid in Lost Ark only has restarts, not resurrection. As such, you’ll want to make sure you have some pretty powerful gear for this difficult encounter.

The Raid is broken into three separate phases. each of which requires different strategies and battle times in order to succeed. There are also two modes for this event: normal and hard, with each one changing the required combat level. With that in mind, let’s dive into how to start things up.

How to Start Vykas Legion Raid in Lost Ark

To start the Vykas Legion Raide, you’ll need to hit the following level requirements

• Normal: ilvl 1430
• Hard: ilvl 1460

If you are at those levels, you’ll be able to play once a week. To start the Raid, simply go to the guardian raid notice board in the capital city and pick the one you want to queue up for. Once signed up, you can join with up to seven random players or play with your own party of four players plus another party.

That is just about everything you need to know about how to start the Vykas Legion Raid in Lost Ark. If you’re still on the hunt for more info about the game, be sure to check out the rest of Twinfinite to see the rest of our guides, which have plenty of tips, tricks, and FAQs.

Nihon Falcom released a new trailer of its upcoming RPG The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki II – Crimson Sin.

The trailer focuses on the cast, providing a look mostly focusing on cutscenes at the characters we’ll play. Interestingly, some are actually battle cutscenes from special attacks.

You can watch it below.

The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki II – Crimson Sin will launch in Japan for PS5 and PS4 on September 29. If you’d like to see more, you can enjoy recent gameplay and an English trailer that unfortunately doesn’t indicate an English localization for now.

At the moment, this highly-anticipated JRPG has not been announced for the west and the same goes for The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki (which has recently been announced for PS5 and PC in Japan).

FFXIV fans have been eager to know when the new farming sim-like feature “Island Sanctuary” comes out in the game, and Square Enix has finally provided more details. Here’s everything we know so far about the release date of this single-player content for Final Fantasy XIV that will let you settle on your own island.

FFXIV Island Sanctuary Release Date

The Island Sanctuary content will release in update 6.2., which will be launch on August 23.

You will need to have completed the 6.0 storyline (basically the Endwalker expansion) in order to gain access to your own Island Sanctuary.

What’s New in FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary?

The Island Sanctuary feature will let you take ownership of an entire instanced island and use it as your private farming sim.