Square Enix Announces Big Changes To PAX East Plans

Written by Brandon Hofer on February 21, 2020

News: Most of the Final Fantasy XIV activities have been canceled due to Coronavirus concerns.

PAX East is going to be next weekend in Boston. Unfortunately, due to the current situation with the Coronavirus, Square Enix has had to change its plans. They initially planned to have a Final Fantasy XIV panel, two developer signing sessions, and a Final Fantasy XIV fan gathering on February 28th. Due to what is going on right now though, that has all been canceled as Square Enix has decided not to fly in their Japanese staff to attend PAX East.

Square Enix said the following on their site:

” As the community may be aware, COVID-19 (also known as “novel coronavirus”) is spreading within the East Asia region. Taking into consideration the current situation within the region, sadly SQUARE ENIX has decided to cancel the PAX East attendance of staff who would be traveling from the Japan offices. This difficult decision was based on our desire to prevent any potential spread of the virus and to prioritize the health and safety of our team and our fans.”

Now this doesn’t mean that Square Enix will be missing entirely from the show. There will still be a Final Fantasy XIV booth on the show floor (Booth #15010). There will still be the Ruby Weapon battle challenge to take part in and potentially win prizes while doing so. There is also going to be the “New Player Experience” and photo opportunities. Additionally, the Final Fantasy VII Remake should also be playable at the show. If you wanted to attend the panel, developer signing sessions, or the fan gathering though, unfortunately, that has all been canceled. To help compensate for this cancelation Square Enix revealed that they will be hosting a livestream from Japan (in English & Japanese) that you can watch on Saturday, February 29 at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the Final Fantasy XIV Twitch channel.

With Sony choosing not to attend this year, Square Enix changing their initial plans, and the rumors of other companies potentially deciding not to show up, it should be an interesting weekend in Boston. Are you planning on attending PAX East? If so, what are you most excited to see at the show?

source: Final Fantasy XIV Website