Final Fantasy XIV has been so popular since the release of the new Endwalker expansion earlier this month that Square Enix has now announced that it’s removing the game from sale as a whole. Yes, rather than continuing to increase its player count altogether, Square has revealed that it will be ending sales of certain versions of Final Fantasy XIV in an effort to alleviate server congestion. The move is one that is absolutely baffling by all accounts and goes to show just how big FFXIV has become in recent months.ย
Detailed on the official Final Fantasy XIV websiteย recently, director Naoki Yoshida explained the decision behind this move. “Players are currently experiencing extremely long wait times due to the dense concentration of play hours which far exceed our server capacity, especially during the peak times, and so we have decided to temporarily suspend the sale and delivery of Final Fantasy XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition,” Yoshida said. “Additionally, although those with an active subscription are prioritized to log in, Free Trial players are unable to log in outside of late night and early morning hours, and so we will also temporarily suspend new registrations for the Free Trial.”
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As you would surely expect, Yoshida did make clear that sales of Final Fantasy XIV’s base versions will only be ended temporarily. Whenever the game becomes more manageable for players to log-in without queue times, it seems likely that Square Enix will once again bring these iterations of FFXIV back to market.ย
In addition, Yoshida also stressed that those who are current players of Final Fantasy XIV will still be able to purchase new expansions or the Collector’s Edition digital upgrade moving forward. So if you’re someone who hasn’t bought Endwalker just yet but you were planning to do so in the near future, that will still be an option.ย
As mentioned, it’s downright crazy that Square Enix has had to resort to keeping new players from joining Final Fantasy XIV at this point in time. However, this move shows how committed the publisher is to the current player base that it has accumulated for FFXIV, which is surely appreciated by those who have been playing the MMO for quite some time.ย
What do you think about this new move from Square Enix with Final Fantasy XIV? And have you been able to play Endwalker for yourself yet? Let me know either down in the comments or message me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.