117GB Free Trial: FF14 Lands on Switch 2 With a Catch

A free trial that includes a base game and three full expansions sounds like one of the best deals in gaming. A free trial that requires 117.2GB of storage on a console with 256GB of internal space sounds like a logistics problem. Final Fantasy 14's Switch 2 launch, which went live earlier this week, is somehow both.

Square Enix brought its long-running MMORPG to a Nintendo console for the first time, and the free trial listed on Nintendo's store is staggeringly large. It covers A Realm Reborn plus the Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers expansions, all playable up to level 80 with no subscription cost. That's hundreds of hours of content. It also dwarfs FF7 Rebirth and Remake, both of which sat around 90GB. On a Switch 2 with 256GB of storage, you're handing nearly half your console to a single game before you've even committed to paying for it.

I've seen plenty of free-to-play hooks over the years, but asking someone to sacrifice 117GB of storage space before they've decided whether they even like an MMO is a wild proposition. It's a testament to how much content the trial actually contains, but it also means anyone without a microSD card is going to have a rough time fitting much else on their Switch 2. If you're treating this as a portable console first, that tradeoff is real.

Subscriptions and discounts

The pricing structure around this port deserves a closer look. According to a notice on the Final Fantasy 14 website, Square Enix is waiving subscription fees for roughly one month after launch to help stabilise the rollout. After that, a 30-day free play period kicks in when you register the platform. Once both windows expire, you'll need a subscription, and here's where it gets thorny: the Switch 2 subscription is separate from any existing PC or PS5 subscription. If you already pay monthly on another platform, you're paying twice.

Square Enix is softening the blow somewhat. Both versions of the Complete Edition are 30 percent off until August 13, bringing the price down to $41.99 / £31.49 from the usual $59.99 / £44.99. And if you have an active subscription on another platform, you can play the Switch 2 version at 50 percent off. It's not nothing, but charging a separate sub for each platform in 2026 still stings, especially when cross-play and cross-progression are becoming standard expectations everywhere else. I wrote about Diablo 4's Switch 2 port charging $70 for a code in a box just yesterday; the pattern of publishers treating Switch 2 owners as a separate revenue stream is becoming hard to ignore.

One important caveat: if you buy any of the paid Switch 2 editions immediately, you lose access to the free trial entirely. It's strictly try-before-you-buy, so don't jump in with your wallet open before you've tested performance.

The port itself has drawn positive reactions from players. Over on the FF14 subreddit, multiple users have called it a clear upgrade over the Steam Deck experience, citing the Switch 2's larger, higher-resolution display as a major factor. But there's a notable launch issue. Square Enix confirmed on the game's website that the Switch 2 version suffers from prolonged loading screens during instanced duties, particularly when entering instances while surrounded by many characters. The delay persists until you leave the instance and affects phase transitions, respawns, and teleports within duties.

"We have identified certain cases in which the data reloading and cache clearing processes required for safe rendering are taking an extended amount of time. As such, these processes have been optimized to ensure faster data loading even under similar conditions, and the updated version is currently in testing."

Square Enix identifying the root cause and getting a fix into testing within days of launch is exactly how you handle a port issue. No vague "stability improvements" language, no silence. They listed the specific scenarios, explained the technical reason, and confirmed a patch is in testing. More studios should communicate like this.

For a game approaching its 13th year, landing on a brand new platform with this much content available for free is an impressive flex. The 117GB download and the separate subscription requirement are real friction points, but if you've got the storage space and you've never tried FF14, this is the deepest free trial in the MMO genre by a considerable margin. The loading time fix should arrive before most free trial players even reach their first instanced duty.