If you like boba tea and Final Fantasy 14, we have good news. Square Enix is offering a deal where buying bubble tea will net you a flying pig for your in-game character. And it’s causing a bit of a frenzy.
The promotion was announced on Wednesday. If you live near a Gong Cha, a franchise known for its boba and milk tea, you have the chance to score either a cute bubble-tea-themed keychain, or an in-game Porxie King mount. That’s basically an adorable pig with Dumbo ears. The promotion started on July 17 and will last until August 28.
All you have to do is buy three teas in one transaction, and you’ll get a code for the mount that you can apply to one character. Some purchases will also net you the keychain, but they’ll only be available at select stores. The Porxie King is a limited-time item, but Square mentions that it might become available in the future.
There are also commemorative Final Fantasy 14-inspired cups and drinks. There’s a Fat Cat Brown Sugar Milk Tea, a Fat Chocobo Mango Frozen Tea, and Cactuar Matcha Milk Tea.
Warriors of Light, get ready to embark on a refreshing new adventure!
From now until Aug. 28, participate in the #FFXIV x Gong cha collaboration campaign and redeem your Porxie King mount! 🐷
Details 👑 https://t.co/TrHSgy3ZXC
Full terms & conditions 🧋 https://t.co/PRrLueRewt pic.twitter.com/qYbq6YMQMy— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) July 17, 2024
But like with any perfect limited-time video game promotion, there have been some reported problems. One Reddit user said they waited in line for 90 minutes, only to be told there were only 27 codes to give away. There are multiple threads in the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit about how different stores have different conditions; one user said a shop in Japan only gave them out with a mobile order. Another just decided to make their own keychain.
With these events also come the scalpers, who put in large orders and then sell the promotion rewards online. Just a quick glimpse at eBay showed one keychain going for $150, while another had all three and a mount code for $110.
Still, the promotion is very enticing. My friend group has been coordinating a weekend trip to Gong Cha all week to get some codes and keychains. Not all of us play Final Fantasy 14, so some just want to go and get some boba tea. It’s the most I’ve seen anybody in my bubble care about a promotion like this, so let’s hope we can get some rewards. Worst case scenario, we get some bubble tea.