New ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ expansion called ‘Stormblood’ includes more features, classes, and a new setting; expansion removes support for PS3 for PS4 version

Square Enix has still been actively working on updating "Final Fantasy XIV" in spite of their current focus on developing the 15th installment on the series. Like most MMORPGs, Square Enix has announced on releasing a new expansion for the game entitled "Stormblood," which adds more features, classes, and a new setting.

The official announcement was made recently in a Fan Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. A number of things regarding "Stormblood" were discussed during the event, such as a new setting for the game called Ala Mhigo.

One noticeable point in the discussion, however, also involved the MMO game's future with PS3, which Director Naoki Yoshida had the urge to announce, according to Gamespot. He mentioned that he did notice a lot of gamers have shifted from the PS3 console to the more current upgrade that is PS4. This being said, Square Enix has officially declared that it's time to put an end to its PS3 servers with "Stormblood's" release. The PC version of the game will also be having changes by increasing the required specs.

To give players an easy time, Square Enix teams up with Sony to give them transition by upgrading their PS3 version to the PS4 one for free. How they would do this hasn't been exactly detailed, given on how long the expansion would take before its eventual release. But for now, those still playing on the PS3 will still enjoy "Final Fantasy XIV" up until "Stormblood's" release, which will then cut off support on PS3.

Siliconera was also able to report on the details of what players would expect in the upcoming expansion:

• The Monk job will be a focus in "Stormblood" just like how Dragoon was a focus in the previous expansion, "Heavensward."

• While it wasn't officially announced, Yoshi-P wore a "Scarlet Witch" shirt, teasing a possible Red Mage job as one of the new ones for 4.0. He previously wore a "Batman" shirt to tease the Dark Knight job, and a "007" shirt to tease a new gunner class which ended up being Machinist.

• The level cap will be raised from 60 to 70.

• Stormblood will usher in a revamped battle system which will include an additional skill system overhaul and a reassessment of ineffective, unused actions.

• The size and number of new areas will not be less than Heavensward

• All new Primals will feature characters from previous "Final Fantasy" titles, but also ones original to "XIV."

• Stormblood will, of course, feature all new dungeons for players to explore, as well as new high-end raids and alliance raids

• "The Forbidden Land - Eureka" will be unique to "Stormblood," and will span its own entire area. It will include notorious monsters and might be used for next set of high-end weapons, such as zodiac and anima.

• New gear and recipes will be added in the expansion, and the new gear will include winners of the fan-designed gear contest.

• Item inventory will be expanded in "Stormblood" thanks to upgrades to the game's servers.

• A fourth residential area will be added, though the location of the area was not revealed.

• The release of "Stormblood" will see the end of PlayStation 3 support for "Final Fantasy XIV." This was also met with a cheer from the audience.

Here's the trailer: