Announcing the Video Contest!

Announcing the Video Contest!

We are happy to announce the upcoming video contest in celebration of the upcoming Fan Festival 2026 in Anaheim. For this year’s theme, participants will be required to create an advertisement showcasing your favorite FFXIV mount.  

Submit your entry by Friday, March 6 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (PST), and be sure to review the rules below!

FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2026 VIDEO CONTEST (THE “PROMOTION”) OFFICIAL RULES 
KEY RULES 

A. Official Rules:
The Official Rules for this Promotion consist of both (i) these key rules summarizing the important rules for participating in the Promotion (the “Key Rules”) and (ii) the Additional Promotion Official Rules (“Additional Rules”) applicable to your place of legal residence. Please review the Additional Rules at the following URL: 


B. Territories:
This Promotion is open only to individuals who are legal residents and physically and permanently located in one of the following countries/territories at the date and time of entry (the “Promotion Jurisdiction”): 

  • The fifty (50) states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 

  • Canada (excluding Quebec). 


C. Age Limit:
This Promotion is open only to individuals 13 years of age or older at the date and time of entry. 

D. Entry Period: 
You may enter the Promotion only between Friday, January 23, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) and Friday, March 6, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) (the “Entry Period”).


E. Entry Procedure and Limitations:
In order to enter the Promotion, you must complete the following steps during the Entry Period (collectively your "Entry"): 

Step One: 

  • Create a 30-second ad video for your favorite mount by utilizing in-game footage to tell us why this is your favorite, incentivizing other players to collect this mount.  

  • You may have up to one (1) assistant to create the video.  

  • Assistant may only collaborate on a single Entry.  

  • Entrant may not act as an assistant for another person’s Entry. 

  • Log into your YouTube account (if necessary, first create a YouTube account for free at (YouTube.com)). YouTube is NOT associated or affiliated with the Promotion in any way. 

  • Upload your video entry to YouTube with the “Unlisted” Visibility setting until the conclusion of the North American Fan Festival. You must prominent display #Contest in beginning of the description of the video (not hidden below a “show more” link). Learn more about how to upload a video to YouTube. 

Video Requirements 

  • One (1) video per Entry 

  • Video length must be a minimum of fifteen (15) seconds to a maximum of thirty (30) seconds in length. 

  • Video Format: 1080p HD or above with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a minimum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. 

  • Video capture and video editing software may be used in the creation of the Entry.  

  • Post-processing filters, transitional effects, or resizing of in-game elements within the video software is permitted.  

  • Digital animation tools within video editing software may be used to edit in-game footage or in-game screenshots.  

  • User-created audio tracks may be incorporated into the Entry.  

  • Any included voice acting must be in the English language. 

  • Audio may not contain explicit or inappropriate language. 

  • Unreleased data-mined assets or in-game footage obtained by using unauthorized third-party software is strictly prohibited in the creation of the video Entry. 

  • Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Final Fantasy XIV Materials Usage License, no third-party music can be used for any Entry under this contest.  

  • The track “Everything Burns” cannot be used for any Entry under this contest. 

* All Entries must be the original creative work of the entrant or the assistant. You may not submit works created by another person. 

* You may submit multiple Entries during the Entry Period; however, only one (1) Entry will be accepted per entrant. If multiple Entries are submitted by the same entrant, only the last entry will be accepted. 

* Please refrain from sharing your video publicly until the Fan Festival 2026 in Anaheim entries have been shared on the voting website on or around mid-April, 2026, in order to protect your Entry.  

Step Two: 

Submit your Entry via the submission form. 



How to Use the Entry Submission Form 

  1.  After visiting the submission form, log in with your Square Enix Account. 

 


2. Enter the required information. After you log in, the entry submission form will be displayed. Fill out all the required information. 

  • Character Name 

  • Home World Name 

  • Nickname 

  • Video Title 

  • Video URL 

  • Class/Job Selection 

  • Preferred In-game Item Prize (See Prize section) 

 

  • One (1) assistant (helper) who assisted with the creation of the video entry 
    * Additional players may assist with creating the video but only the Entrant and one (1) assistant will be eligible for prizing.  

  • Helper's Character Name  

  • Helper's Home World  

  • Helper's Preferred In-game Item Prize (See Prize section) 

  • Brief comment (Maximum of 400 characters) 

* Your nickname, entry title, and comment will be publicly posted alongside your entry should it be selected. 

* Other than instances when you are using your real name for your nickname, please do not include personal information (such as your name or address) in your submission. 



Once you’ve filled out the required information, select “Proceed to Confirmation” to advance. 

4. Confirm the details of your submission. On this screen, you can confirm the information you’ve entered. Make sure there are no errors in the submitted information and select “Submit Entry” to proceed if there are no errors. If you would like to edit your submitted information, select Edit Entry. 

Once you finish submitting your entry, the following screen will be displayed. 

 


 

You can log back in to see if your Entry has been submitted or if you would like to submit a new Entry to change your existing Entry. 



F. Winner Selection: 
Sponsor shall select twenty-five (25) entrants and their listed assistant as finalists based on the: 

  • Technical quality of the Entry 

  • Originality of the Entry 

  • Creativity of the Entry 

  • Artistic elements of the Entry 

Follows the theme: Create a 30-second ad video for your favorite mount by utilizing in-game footage to tell us why this is your favorite, incentivizing other players to collect this mount.  

Sponsor will display the finalists’ Entries on a special web page before the North American Fan Festival event scheduled to be updated on or about Monday, April 13, 2026. Voting will be open to anyone with a North American Square Enix account with FINAL FANTASY XIV game time (the “Voters”). Voters will select the ultimate winners from the eligible finalists.

Sponsor shall collect votes to determine the winners from each of the Voting Categories. There will be a total of three (3) winners.



G. Prize(s): 
Twenty-five (25) finalists and their helpers shall each receive:

  • One (1) in-game item of their choice from the items below:

    • Ahriman Choker

    • Bluebird Earring

    • Gaelicap

    • Great Paraserpent

    • Loporrit Earrings

    • Mandragora Choker

    • Modern Aesthetics – Strife

    • Noble Barding

    • Scarf of Wondrous Wit

  • A new In-game Community Item (will be announced at a later date).


In addition to the above prize, three (3) winners shall each receive the following:

  • FINAL FANTASY XIV: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail - The Art of Succession -Relics of Heritage- (Signed by Naoki Yoshida) (approximate retail value of $39.99 USD)

  • FINAL FANTASY XIV Gaming Mouse Pad - Warriors of Light (Signed by Naoki Yoshida) (approximate retail value of $34.99 USD)

  • A new In-game Framer's Kit

* Example image. Final design is subject to change.

  • A physical art frame with the winner's video thumbnail (Signed by Naoki Yoshida)

* All in-game prizes are non-transferrable and will only be delivered to the character specified upon entry. 

Excluding the new in-game community item, other in-game prizes and physical items listed above are scheduled to be delivered on or about June 30, 2026. The new in-game community item will be delivered once it becomes available. 


H. Winner Notification:
Sponsor, or Sponsor’s designee, will notify winner(s) by or about May 1, 2026 on the North American Fan Festival website. 



I. Sponsor:
The Sponsor of this Promotion is Square Enix, Inc. 



J. Other: 

  • Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entry, in compliance with these Key Rules, at Sponsor's sole discretion.  

  • Section 14 of the Additional Rules shall not apply to Entries. Rather, the following term shall apply:  

  • By submitting your entry to the Promotion, you grant a license (i.e., permission) for the Sponsor, Sponsor’s affiliate companies, and their agents and licensees to edit, publish, re-post, re-tweet, broadcast, reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise use and exploit your entry (with or without any accompanying comments and information like your handle and profile picture) only for purposes of the Promotion in any and all media throughout the world (if applicable for the particular promotion) for a reasonable period of time, not exceeding five (5) years, without financial compensation, including, without limitation, on the Sponsor’s publicly accessible website(s), social media platform accounts, and all other media and distribution channels whether now known or hereafter invented (if applicable for the particular Promotion). Sponsor may assign or sublicense this license at its discretion.  

  • Given the nature of online content, your entry may be available online even after the above license has expired (if applicable). You agree that you shall not hold the Sponsor, the Sponsor’s affiliate companies, their licensees, or any of their employees, officers, agents, or contractors responsible or liable for any use of your entry by third parties either during or after the license period.  

By entering the Promotion, you agree to be bound and abide by these Key Rules and the Additional Rules applicable to your place of legal residence, and you represent that you satisfy all eligibility. 


NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU MUST HAVE LEGALLY ACQUIRED ACCESS TO FINAL FANTASY XIV PRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF THE PROMOTION.  

 

KEY RULES POSTED ON JANUARY 23, 2026.