How Evercold's Layered Trailer Reveal Keeps Final Fantasy XIV Fans Warm
How Evercold's Layered Trailer Reveal Keeps Final Fantasy XIV Fans Warm
Final Fantasy XIV traditionally builds up hype for expansions by layering its trailers, and Evercold shows us the process is more effective than ever.
We live in an age in which video game trailers constantly vie for our attention. Some trailers boast production values and scene direction that rival Hollywood blockbusters. ("'But how does the game actually play'? Don't worry 'bout it.") Pop music whose licensing fees probably ate half the game's budget pours out of your speakers. Heroes quip as out-of-context scenes zip by. A spike of interest follows on social media—maybe even an awkward new reaction image generated from a hastily-nabbed screenshot. Then some new game’s trailer comes by with all its sparkle and shine, and we forget about the previous trailer and the other game it repped until we're all jumpscared nine months later by the release that our little goldfish brains totally forgot about.
Square Enix has mastered the trailer. The company has established an interesting approach to keeping Final Fantasy XIV players engaged in upcoming expansions: It reveals those expansions through three spaced-out trailers that each builds on the last. "Layering" reveals like this helps keep discourse warm in the cold months before release. As soon as the noise and business of life erases your memory of Final Fantasy XIV's next expansion, a new trailer drops, and it's even better than the one preceding it. The hype ignites anew.
Evercold, which is due to launch in January 2027, was revealed back in April at the Final Fantasy XIV-oriented Fanfest event in Anaheim. The first teaser trailer gave us a tantalizing sample of where we'll end up: A star that's been frozen over by calamity. The second teaser trailer, revealed in July at a second Fanfest in Berlin, showed us the flying island worlds that we'll be visiting throughout the expansion. We also got a glimpse of the creatures that the old nan talking to the child refers to as "They": Towering stone creatures seemingly capable of swatting down these islands like flies.
But we don't know "Their" intent. We might learn the reason for the beef when the third and final trailer for Evercold debuts at the Tokyo Fanfest event on October 31. (Spooky!)
We'll also get the final version of Evercold's trailer song, which builds up along with the trailers' footage. While the vocals in the first teaser unmistakably belong to longtime Final Fantasy XIV voice-lender Jason Charles Miller (who is also the "RULES OF NAY! CHUR!" guy from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance), his words are muffled. The latest trailer clears up the vocals a little bit, and it adds a "dueling" segment with a female voice. (This may be a callback to the Endwalker trailer doing the same thing in 2021, but that's speculation.) We also get a glimpse of a male Roegadyn, possibly long-standing ally Hoary Boulder, showing off the new Bastion Tank job. It looks good, but is Hoary Boulder still with his squeeze, Aenor? And does Aenor still want that threesome with him and Ochre Boulder? Look, someone has to ask the important questions.
It feels like a long time until October, but summer goes fast. Square Enix's layered Evercold trailer means there will be plenty to gossip about while we unpack our warm clothes. Soak in that sun while you can, Final Fantasy XIV fans. The nights will be getting dark early by the time the last Evercold trailer drops, and it will be a bitter night indeed when the expansion finally comes out in winter.