Some fans playing Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail during its early access period on PS5 have run into a bit of a snag where they lose access to it and gain a lovely countdown timer telling them to wait for the game’s full release on July 2, 2024, to play again.
While Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail PS5 early access not working doesn’t affect all players, it’s impacted a large portion of the PS5 community who have been diving in over the weekend. However, there’s a fix that Square Enix says should allow you to get back into the game and continue from where you left off before the expansion’s full release.
How to fix Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail PS5 early access not working
To fix Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail PS5 early access not working, players must download the Free Trial version of Final Fantasy XIV. This new set of files seems to fix the issue for some reason. While Square Enix hasn’t explained exactly how or why the fix works, the important thing is that it does, so you can get back into the expansion and make the most of the time you have left before the floodgates open to the rest of the fan base.
Why did Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail PS5 early access stop working?
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail PS5 early access stopped working at exactly 00:00 AM on June 30, 2024. Something about the time moving over to this date caused the version of the game on PS5 to specifically block players from getting in and add a timer counting down to the general release.
Square Enix hasn’t offered a specific reason for the issue, only that it happens “when certain conditions are met.” This could indicate that in-game progress also affects who is impacted by the issue, but it’s impossible to say if that’s the case until Square Enix shares more information.
The Trial Version fix seems to work for most players who lost access to the game overnight. However, it’s an annoyingly inconsistent error. Over on the Final Fantasy XIV subreddit, the small selection of players who are sharing their stories about the issue have no suggestions about why they were hit by it other than some cruel twist of fate.
User Gizmo16868 explained, “I think it has to do with the auto download Dawntrail had set for 6/30. I’ve unchecked all of my auto updates and downloads and hoping the curse skips me.” This seems like a wise move, although it could make the game completely unplayable because the version on the console would be out of sync with the one on the server.
For now, the above fix is getting PS5 players back into Dawntrail. While the fix feels fragile, you can’t argue with a solution that works. We’ll just have to hope that something else doesn’t go wrong for PS5, PC, or all players ahead of launch day.
