Blitzball will make a comeback in Final Fantasy XIV's Stormblood expansion

At the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, director/producer Naoki Yoshida fielded questions from the press about the upcoming Stormblood expansion. Since the expansion would feature swimming and diving for the first time, would there be a chance that Blitzball cound return?

The answer: Yoshida confirmed that the team is currently planning the addition of the minigame, however, it may not look and play exactly like you remember from Final Fantasy X. He went on to say that there are a lot of challenges the team must take on to make it work. Yoshida says he believes that players grew bored quickly in the FFX version, and FFXIV’s version will include MMORPG elements. The end result might be something that’s further away from what peoples’ current image of Blitzball is.

(Note: In a previous update we cited that the minigame was being “deliberated” but we can now share the team has concrete plans to add the game. Yoshida says the team is trying to find a good balance between what people remember and something that works well within the MMORPG genre.)

Blitzball, as some of you may already know, is an underwater sport that marries soccer, rugby, and water polo. Players on a team can move the ball up and down the field using a variety of turn-based commands. Team members can level up with experience earned in matches to get better in their various positions and learn new techniques.

FFXIV has reintroduced several classic minigames in the past, including Final Fantasy VIII‘s Triple Triad and Final Fantasy VII‘s chocobo racing — all with a twist that makes them a bit different than their original counterparts.

Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood will release on June 20th (tentative) for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Mac.

Check out more of our Fan Festival coverage, including the full Stormblood opening and the keynote summary, here.


About the Author

Tony Garsow Tony joined Nova Crystallis in 2015, and has spent more than a decade writing in the Final Fantasy community. He also contributes to the Nova Crystallis Twitch and YouTube channels, where you can watch select gameplay highlights, previews, and streams.

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