FFXIV director addresses free-to-play rumors with definitive stance

❘ Published: 2023-09-07T05:45:34

Square Enix

Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida has addressed the rumors about whether the hit MMO would ever go free to play, stating they have “no plans” to do so at the moment.

Final Fantasy XIV has been on a roll for the past couple of years. The MMORPG has soared in popularity, particularly during the end of Shadowbringers and towards Endwalker. Now with Dawntrail coming next year, players are waiting to see what new adventure awaits them.

One of the reasons why Final Fantasy XIV has seen such fantastic growth has been due in part to its non-restrictive free trial, which allows players unlimited playtime, the base game of A Realm Reborn, and the first expansion Heavensward.

With the coming release of Dawntrail, it was revealed that the free trial too would have another expansion up its sleeve. Stormblood, the second expansion would join the free trial during Patch 6.5, allowing players to reach level 70. However, that’s left the question of if the game would ever go free to play completely, which Game Director Naoki Yoshida has answered.

Final Fantasy XIV 10th Anniversary image

The game’s recent 10th Anniversary had players thinking about a potential free-to-play model.

FFXIV director states they have no plans of making game free to play

At the recent Fan Fest at Las Vegas, Yoshi-P had this to say:

“I believe the free trial will continue to be expanded, but we have no plans of making the client itself free at the moment,” the developer explained.

He explained that the revenue made from the subscriptions paid by players helps the developers continue to make high-quality expansions.

“Since a huge amount of time and money has been invested in the expansion packages, the revenue from sales of the expansion package itself is still very important in order to continue to make expansions on this scale.”

Yoshida, who is incredibly passionate about the MMORPG wants to continue aiming for the best on the business side so that the devs can continue to make a lot of content for players.

“We would like to constantly aim for the best on the business side as well to continue making a lot of content to be enjoyed.”