Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn has been continuously rolling following its relaunch in 2013. The game’s expansions have also been doing well with the second expansion Stormblood leading to the highest number of paid subscribers since the game released.

This was revealed by Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda who revealed during the company’s quarterly conference call to investors that there was a “sharp uptick” in subscribers. He further noted that the current subscriber count is the highest peak the company has seen yet.

“1H saw the release of the ‘STORMBLOOD‘ expansion pack for ‘FINAL FANTASY XIV.’ This release drove a sharp uptick in subscriber numbers and brought us to the highest paying subscriber count we have had in the four years since launch.”

Final Fantasy 14 had an extremely rough time when it first launched in 2010, facing heavy criticism for its design, performance issues and failing to keep up with the times. When producer and director Naoki Yoshida took the helm, the game was revamped into A Realm Reborn and has stood as one of the best MMORPGs available today, if not the best Final Fantasy story currently available.

It’s been a good year for Square Enix. Along with the success of Platinum Games’ Nier: Automata, which the company publisher, Square Enix also noted strong performance for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn and Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age in its most recent quarterly earnings.

As per Yosuke Matsuda in the conference call, Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age – a remastered version of the International Zodiac Job System Edition of the game for PS2 – has been seeing “brisk” sales on the PS4 since its launch. The real star was Final Fantasy 14 which saw paying subscriber numbers at a “record high”. This is following the release of Stormblood, the latest expansion for the MMO.

It should be noted that this figure isn’t merely for anyone who’s made an account, like the earlier announced 10 million registered players, but those who are actually paying. Stormblood has allowed for a “sustained contribution” to the company’s earnings going forward and Matsuda also noted that the MMO side of the business was outperforming expectations.

With servers stabilizing this week for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, players of the new Stormblood expansion have quite a bit to look forward to. Patch 4.01’s notes are now available and they indicate a new raid.

Omega: Deltascape will see eight players teaming up over a 90 minute time limit for the raid, though you’ll need to be a Discible of War or have a magic level of 70 with item levels at 295 or higher. Rewards for completing the four areas of the raid will be tokens that can be traded for equipment.

A single type of token will be available each week and those who finish the final portion of the raid will receive a Deltascape crystalloid. You can convert these into early model tomestones for picking up a new weapon via the Tomestones of Creation coming in two weeks.

The patch has also changed up a few classes and skills so make sure to check out the notes in full. What are your thoughts on Stormblood’s raid? Let us know in the comments.

Curious about the new locations that await in Final Fantasy 14’s next paid expansion Stormblood? Though the expansion is still a few weeks off, Square-Enix has released a new video showcasing Far Eastern locations like Kugane, Yanxia, Gyr Abania and the Ruby Sea.

Stormblood will introduce quite a bit of new content on top of the new locations. This includes new Jobs like the Red Mage and Samurai, a level cap that’s increased to 70, some changes to the battle system and a revamp of skills, and much more.

Certain Jobs and skill systems will also be changing for the Dark Knight, White Mage, Black Mage, Ninja, Dragoon and so on. The full Job changes can be seen over at Siliconera.

Of course, players will also have new movement options like diving and swimming. There will also be a new Alliance raid, more inventory space, new dungeons and so on. Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood arrives on June 20th for PS4 and PC but consumers who pre-order will receive it on June 16th.

Players of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn take note – the next big expansion Stormblood finally has a release date. Square Enix has announced during a recent Fan Fest that it will be out on June 20th 2017.

Stormblood follows the last expansion Heavensward and takes place in Ala Mhigo as players pursue a new villain Zenos. There are the usual new areas to explore along with a fourth new residential area. You can also expect new dungeons, a new job and Primals along with raids.

As a whole, Square-Enix is promising a “full standalone game’s worth of content” and if it’s anything like Heavensward, you can expect a whole lot to do.

Square Enix is also fairly good with post-launch support, delivering free events and content updates (though it’s still on a monthly subscription). What are your thoughts on Stormblood, which will be out on PS4 and PC? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information.