Final Fantasy XIV offers free weekend for inactive players

Lapsed Final Fantasy XIV players will soon be able to jump back into the action on Square Enix's dime, for a few days at least, thanks to a "Free Login Weekend" beginning July 18.

The recently-released 2.3 patch, Defenders of Eorzea, brought some pretty big changes to Final Fantasy XIV. New dungeons, side quests, housing options, crafting skills and more were added to the game, and Square Enix wants to make sure everyone knows about it—especially former players.

To that end, all players with inactive accounts are being offered a chance to check out what's new this weekend at no charge. The free login weekendstarts at 12:00 am PDT on July 18 and runs until 12:00 am PDT on July 21.

You will of course need to download the client software in order to play— available here—and while it should probably go without saying, if you're absolutely blown away by the new content and want to keep playing after the weekend is over, you'll need to sign up for a subscription. To determine the status of your account (and thus your eligibility for the free weekend), pay a visit to the Final Fantasy XIV Mog Station.