With advertising in full swing, it feels like the hype for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 14 is at an all-time high. As gamers work through existing content in preparation for the new Shadowbringers expansion, there’s another morsel of good news for those that would like to see Final Fantasy 14 expand outside of gaming. Sony Pictures and Hivemind are teaming up for a live-action television series based Final Fantasy 14.
Hivemind is the production studio behind the upcoming live-action Witcher series on Netflix. The studio also produced Amazon’s The Expanse, a sci-fi drama based on novels by authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. This isn’t the only recent news regarding Sony getting involved with television or film based on video games. The company spun off the new PlayStation Productions studio in May and it will be dedicated to producing projects based on PlayStation-exclusive franchises.
There are three films based on the Final Fantasy franchise: Spirits Within, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy 15 and Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children. All were computer animated works and the new TV series will be the first time a live-action Final Fantasy is produced. A more specific synopsis will be released closer to the premiere of the series but, for now, the press release shares the original story set within Eorzea, FF14’s setting, will feature Final Fantasy staples like Magitek, beast-men, airships, and Chocobos.
“Final Fantasy 14 and Eorzea are the perfect gateway into Final Fantasy for longtime fans and newcomers alike,” Sony Pictures Television Co-President Chris Parnell said in a statement. “This show is about embracing and embodying all of the elements that have made the mythos such an endlessly captivating phenomenon, and it’s an immense honor to be bringing all of Eorzea’s iconic characters, settings, and concepts — including fan-favorites like Cid and, of course, the Chocobos — to life for a television audience.”
The only confirmed character for the project is one that Final Fantasy fans, even those who don’t play the game, will appreciate. Every Final Fantasy game features a character named Cid and Final Fantasy 14’s Cid nan Garlond will be appearing in the live-action series.
Final Fantasy 14 wasn’t always the success it is today. The original 2010 launch of the game was live for two years before getting shut down. The game relaunched with the name Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn in 2013 and has amassed more than 16 million created accounts. Shadowbringers, which releases on July 2, adds a new chapter to the story, new gameplay mechanics, two new jobs, and more.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.