Housing has always been one of the most popular features in Final Fantasy XIV, but limited availability and restrictive decoration systems have prevented many players from fully enjoying it. Fortunately, Square Enix is preparing a major housing overhaul for the 8.x series.
During the FFXIV Evercold FanFest Tokyo keynote, Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) revealed three major pillars of the upcoming housing improvements. These changes are currently planned for Patch 8.1, rather than the expansion's initial launch. The update will focus on giving players more freedom to customize their homes, introducing a new furniture placement system, and making housing accessible to more players. Here's everything currently known about the FFXIV 8.1 housing update.
1. Interior Size Customization: Small Houses Can Have Large Interiors
One of the biggest announcements is the introduction of interior size customization, often described by the community as "TARDIS housing." Currently, the interior size of a house is determined by the size of its exterior plot. Small plots have small interiors, medium plots have medium interiors, and large plots have large interiors. Patch 8.1 is expected to change this system. Players will be able to customize their home's interior size independently of the exterior plot they own. For example, someone with a small house in the Mist could potentially select a large interior while keeping the original small exterior.
The system will support different combinations:
- Small exterior with a medium interior.
- Small exterior with a large interior.
- Medium exterior with a small or large interior.
- Large exterior with a small or medium interior.
This means players will no longer need to compete exclusively for medium or large plots just to enjoy a spacious decorating area.
Housing Furnishing Limits Will Also Change
Interior customization isn't just about making rooms bigger. Furnishing placement limits will also adjust according to the selected interior size. For example, if a player owns a small plot but upgrades its interior to large, they will receive the corresponding large-house furnishing placement capacity. On the other hand, changing a large house to a small interior will also reduce its furnishing placement limits. This is an important detail because a larger room would be much less useful if players were still restricted by the original small-house furnishing limit. However, the customization currently applies to interiors. There has been no confirmation of a similar system for exterior spaces, so large plots will still retain their advantages when it comes to outdoor areas.
Will Interior Customization Cost Gil?
Yes. According to the information shared during the presentation, changing interior sizes will require Gil. The exact price has not been announced yet. However, this system will introduce another potential Gil sink into the game. Players should wait for official pricing details before making any assumptions about how much the customization will cost.
If you're planning to upgrade your home's interior in Patch 8.1, having enough Gil ready will make it easier to take advantage of the new housing features when they arrive. Whether you need Gil for interior customization, furniture, or other housing projects, MmoGah offers FFXIV Gil with fast delivery and 24/7 customer support, helping you spend less time farming and more time enjoying the game.
2. New Housing Interface: Freely Place Furniture in Midair
The second major improvement is a completely redesigned housing interface. One of the most exciting features is the ability to place furnishings freely in three-dimensional space, including midair, without relying on placement glitches or external tools. Currently, experienced decorators often use complicated techniques to float furniture. These methods can involve positioning items on top of other furnishings, adjusting placement settings, and removing supporting objects afterward. Although these techniques have allowed players to create incredible housing designs, they can be difficult for beginners to learn and use. The new system aims to make this process much easier.
Almost Every Housing Item Will Be Floatable
During the FanFest Q&A, Yoshi-P was asked whether players would be able to float every housing item. His response clarified that almost all furnishings are intended to support free placement. There may be a few exceptions, potentially involving certain lighting fixtures or items tied to specific property designs. The planned system will allow players to move furnishings using X, Y, and Z coordinates, giving them much greater control over their placement.
This could open up many new decorating possibilities, including:
- Floating platforms and suspended decorations.
- More elaborate ceiling designs.
- Custom furniture arrangements.
- Creative room layouts and environments.
- More complex interactive housing attractions and jumping puzzles.
For players who enjoy designing venues, themed interiors, or elaborate decorations, this could be one of the most significant housing improvements in years.
The developers have acknowledged how much creativity the community has demonstrated through existing furniture placement techniques. Instead of requiring players to rely on glitches, the goal is to incorporate these possibilities directly into the official housing system. However, the exact interface and its full range of functions have not yet been demonstrated. Features such as free rotation, item scaling, blueprint sharing, and more advanced customization options remain possibilities that players would like to see, rather than confirmed Patch 8.1 features.
3. More Housing Plots: Making Houses Accessible to More Players
The third pillar may be the most important improvement for players who have struggled to obtain a house. FFXIV currently uses a housing lottery system, but the number of available plots remains limited. This creates strong competition, particularly for medium and large properties. Although the lottery system is generally preferable to the previous first-come, first-served purchasing method, it cannot completely solve the problem when demand exceeds supply. During the keynote, Yoshi-P confirmed that the development team is actively discussing ways to increase housing availability.
More importantly, this is not simply a vague idea for the distant future. The team has reportedly made significant progress toward a decision, and the server budget for the necessary infrastructure has already been agreed upon. Yoshi-P described the situation as a matter of when rather than if.
Three Possible Approaches to Increasing Housing Availability
In a subsequent interview with Japanese gaming media, Yoshi-P explained that the team's priority is to put more houses with gardens into players' hands. The developers have reportedly narrowed their discussions down to three possible approaches, although the complete details of all three have not been publicly revealed. One possibility specifically discussed was private instance housing, similar to the sharding approach used in other MMOs. With this system, players could potentially own personal houses and gardens without competing for the limited plots in existing housing districts. However, this approach has not been confirmed.
Will FFXIV Keep Its Shared Housing Neighborhoods?
One major concern with private instance housing is the potential loss of the community atmosphere that makes FFXIV housing special. The current ward system allows players to walk through neighborhoods, visit other properties, discover player-run venues, and see how their neighbors decorate their gardens. This shared environment is an important part of the game's housing experience. Yoshi-P has also expressed concerns about losing this sense of community if housing becomes entirely private and instanced. A hybrid system could potentially offer a solution, allowing traditional housing wards to coexist with additional private housing options. However, the development team has not announced its final decision, so players will need to wait for further details.
4. What Other Housing Features Could Players Expect?
While the three major improvements have been discussed by the developers, several additional features would make the housing overhaul even better. These are suggestions rather than confirmed features for Patch 8.1.
Free Furniture Rotation: Allowing players to rotate furnishings freely in three-dimensional space would provide more control over decoration angles and creative arrangements.
Furniture Scaling: An option to increase or decrease furniture sizes could make it easier to create customized environments and better-fitting decorations.
Housing Blueprints: A system for saving and sharing furniture layouts would help players discover new designs and recreate impressive builds in their own homes.
More Flexible Dye Options: Allowing different parts of a furnishing to use separate dye colors could provide significantly more customization freedom.
These ideas are not part of the confirmed announcement, but they demonstrate how much potential the new housing interface could have if Square Enix continues expanding it.
5. When Will the FFXIV Housing Update Be Released?
The three major housing improvements are planned for Patch 8.1 in the FFXIV Evercold expansion cycle. They will not be available at the expansion's initial launch. The developers have also indicated that the previously discussed TARDIS-style housing feature will arrive as part of this broader group of housing improvements rather than being introduced earlier. More demonstrations and detailed information are expected closer to release, potentially through future Live Letters and development presentations. For now, the exact release date, interior customization costs, final furniture placement restrictions, and housing availability implementation remain unannounced.
Final Thoughts
The FFXIV 8.1 housing update could represent one of the biggest improvements to the game's housing system. Interior size customization will give small-house owners access to larger decorating spaces, the redesigned interface will make creative furniture placement more accessible, and the planned expansion of housing availability could help more players experience home ownership.
The biggest question is how Square Enix will increase the number of available houses without sacrificing the shared neighborhood experience that makes FFXIV housing unique. If the developers can successfully balance accessibility, customization, and community interaction, Patch 8.1 could make housing more enjoyable for both experienced decorators and players who have never managed to obtain a house.
