To celebrate Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, a real-life Aetheryte Crystal materialises in London
With the release of Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion just round the corner, Square Enix decided to mark the occasion. How? By dropping a massive, real-life Aetheryte Crystal outside Kings Cross.
Okay, this was arranged ahead of time, they didn’t just dump it and run away giggling. But all throughout yesterday, visitors to London’s Kings Cross train station, and any fans who turned up, were greeted by the impressive sight of this crystalline sculpture.
In-game, Aetheryte crystals crop up Final Fantasy XIV’s towns and cities, Dawntrail included, and can be used to fast travel. This one, sadly, didn’t boast that function, so it was business as usual for Kings Cross commuters. But it did look very impressive lit up.
Its creators nailed the look, giving the impression it was attached to its base by the tiniest sliver of crystal. Presumably it was sturdier than that, otherwise Square Enix wouldn’t have let fans get as close as they did. And as PR stunts go, it’s definitely one of the cooler ones.
That said, some tiny, teensy part of us did wonder if it’d get stolen, if Square Enix’s security team would go for a tea break and come back to find it’d had been loaded into a lorry. We had a similar reaction to Square Enix’s Buster Sword Billboard. We imagined someone scaling it, crowbar in hand, dropping DualSense controllers into an accomplice’s sack.
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Thankfully, unless they’re keeping very quiet about it, Square Enix did get their Aetheryte Crystal back. We’re hoping it crops up again, since it’d be a shame to create something this gorgeous and just shove it in a warehouse.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion releases this Tuesday 2nd July, raising the game’s level cap, adding new jobs, new dungeons and more.
