Even Final Fantasy 14 is getting in on the Starfield action with new co-op mode Cosmic Exploration
DIY across the universe
Seemingly not content with swallowing up Animal Crossing and spitting out its own farm-and-craft minigame, Final Fantasy 14 has apparently now guzzled down Starfield and is readying to unleash its own way to sink dozens of hours into galactic wandering.
Upcoming mode Cosmic Exploration will offer a co-op experience that will take players between a number of planets as they explore the galaxy and hammer away at different projects.
The new lifestyle content joins the Animal Crossing-like Island Sanctuary - introduced in 2022’s patch 6.2 - and previous collective initiatives such as the Ishgardian Restoration, which had players across the MMO working together as its Disciples of the Hand and Land jobs to rebuild the city’s damaged Firmament district in return for rewards and titles.
Cosmic Exploration sounds like it will be closer to that game-wide collaborative effort than the individual collect-and-craft progression of Island Sanctuary, as director Naoki Yoshida explained during its reveal during Fan Festival Tokyo that while the mode can be played solo, it’s primarily intended for players to work together in order to make progress.
The exact details of what players will be doing remain unknown for now, with the mode called an “expansive” bit of content “a little bit different” from anything seen in the game’s main scenario. With each update to Final Fantasy 14, the star that players are working on will change, sending them to various different planets across the universe.
“If it was just one [planet], you wouldn’t get much variety in the scenery, so we thought we’d give you a bunch so you could get a sense of progress,” Yoshida said, adding that the idea was for players to think “Wow, where are we going now?”
More details are due to be revealed in future Letter from the Producer Live events around Final Fantasy 14’s new expansion Dawntrail, which will release sometime this summer - bringing new jobs, quests and more along with it.