Square Enix has announced the FFXI Fan Event 2018 which will be held at Yomiuriland’s Ranran Hall, December 2nd in Japan.

The Niconico channel for Famitsu x Dengeki Final Fantasy XI was recently renewed, showcasing information about the event including guests and new merchandise. The event will play host to a performance by the Nanaa Mihgo’s, an appearance by FFXI Composer Kumi Tanioka, as well as other Japanese celebrities. The event page is also showing off some brand new merchandise, from shirts, to subligar hand towels and more- which you can see in the gallery below.

Could there also be some big announcements for Final Fantasy XI at this event? We’ve known since September, when DualShockers sat down with Final Fantasy XIV Producer/Director (and head of Business Division 5) Naoki Yoshida, that there is definitely something in the works for Final Fantasy XI.

This year we have a lot of patches and a lot of plans. We’re going to talk about it in the coming months, even if it’s not a new expansion. Yet, the team and the Producers want to liven up the project, so you’re gonna see the results in the next few months of work within the team as well as the PR teams. You’ll feel that the game is still going strong.

Yoshida himself says that there’s no expansion planned for Final Fantasy XI, after all, the end of FFXI’s story did conclude with Rhapsodies of Vana’diel in November of 2015. The game has continued operation since, with minor version updates adding content such as new battlefields. One has to wonder, since they’re not doing an expansion, if they would consider adding more add-on scenarios?

There’s no telling what’s in store for the future of Final Fantasy XI, but we do know that at some point, Square Enix will have to finally pull back the curtain on Final Fantasy XI mobile, which we’ve hardly seen any news on since its announcement back in March of 2015. The latest information (some images) on FFXI mobile was plucked from Nexon’s job listings page back in May. Could this fan event finally show us more of what to expect from FFXI Mobile? Or are our hopes simply set too high after years of waiting?