Shadowbringers is the upcoming addition to Final Fantasy XIV and with it comes a ton of new content for players to enjoy. With a new level cap of 80, nine new dungeons, two new raids, two new classes, and much more, the expansion promises to bring some pretty radical changes to Square Enix’s persistent online world.
While you can totally wait to buy Shadowbringers at launch or wait until the price drops to something a bit more attractive, players that are eager to jump into the new world as soon as possible can jump in ahead of release if they pre-order it. But, simply purchasing the game prior to launch won’t just allow you to try the new content out. Securing early access requires a few more steps that ensure that your pre-order doesn’t go to waste.
How to get early access to FFXIV: Shadowbringers
Unfortunately, getting early access isn’t as simple as just pre-ordering the game . If you want to be able to hop in starting on Friday, June 28 at 2 a.m. PDT/5 a.m. EDT, there are a few steps you’ll need to take to secure access, and those will differ slightly depending on the platform you’re playing the game on. Here’s a simplified guide to getting early access.
PS4
If you purchased the digital version of the expansion for the PlayStation 4, then you’ve got it fairly easy as you’ll receive your bonus items and early access to Shadowbringers automatically.
You will still need to register your Square Enix account once early access begins to make sure that the correct service account is receiving the access and bonus items. Instructions to do this will show up once early access starts and you launch FFXIV.
If you obtained the digital copy of the expansion for PS4:
- Visit the Shadowbringers pre-order website and enter the 12-digit code you were given from the retailer you purchased it from.
- Sign in to your PSN account and open the PlayStation Store to redeem that same code (“Redeem Codes” located on the bottom-left of the “Option” menu or if you’re on desktop, in the menu under your account avatar in the upper-right corner of the window after selecting it.)
Once you enter and confirm the code, you will ready to jump into early access when it becomes available. You will also have to follow the process mentioned above for registering your Square Enix account once it goes live.
Steam, Window, and Mac
If you’re playing on Windows and Mac:
- Take your pre-order code and redeem it on the Shadowbringers website to retrieve your early access code. You can skip down to the third step below.
To enjoy Shadowbringers early access on Stream:
- Head to your game library on Steam.
Select FFXIV, navigate to the “Links” section of the game page, and then select “CD key” to find your 20-digit pre-order code.- Once you have the code, head to Mog Station, “Your Account” (located on the top-left of the window), and select the service account you would like to use the code for. Make sure that the service account you’re registering the code to has the appropriate world and characters because this is where your early access and bonus items will be going to. If you only have one service account, it will default to that one.
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After confirming your service account, navigate to “Enter Pre-Order Bonus Code” to enter the 20-digit code, and then follow the “Next” prompts until you’re finished.
Select FFXIV, navigate to the “Links” section of the game page, and then select “CD key” to find your 20-digit pre-order code.
Once you have the code, 
Hopefully, this guide helped simplify a somewhat complicated process for getting early access to FFXIV: Shadowbringers. Be sure to check back for our review and more guides once the expansion releases on July 2.
