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"No plans" to make Final Fantasy 14 free-to-play, says Yoshida
06.09.2023 - 16:41 / eurogamer.net / Naoki Yoshida
Final Fantasy 14 won't be going free-to-play anytime soon.
Each new expansion of Square Enix's MMORPG has extended its meme-worthy free trial to include more and more of the game. As announced recently at the Las Vegas Fan Fest, that free trial will be expanded to include Stormblood up to level 70 when next expansion Dawntrail is released next year.
But will the company ever reach a point where that free trial is extended to the full game? Director Naoki Yoshida told Eurogamer it won't, though the free trial will likely be expanded further.
«I believe the free trial will continue to be expanded, but we have no plans of making the client itself free at the moment,» said Yoshida. «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. 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.»
Yoshida's comments come as A Realm Reborn, the infamous restart of Final Fantasy 14, reaches its tenth anniversary this year. The game has proven incredibly successful since then, becoming in 2021 the company's most profitable game in the series.
But at what point does Yoshida and his team move on from Eorzea to a new game?
«We don't have plans to move on to a new game as that would be something even more difficult than having the realm be 'reborn',» he said. «That might change if I am hit with some kind of inspiration though.»
The game infamously got off to a rough start in 2010, as players and critics panned its gameplay and unfinished state. Square Enix suspended subscription fees and put Yoshida in charge. Its turnaround as A Realm Reborn has become one of the biggest success stories in gaming history — something Yoshida is proud of, though it was unexpected.
«As an experienced MMORPG player myself, I had somehow felt that it wouldn't be possible for an MMORPG which failed upon launch to revive itself,» he said. «However, it's precisely for that reason why to me A Realm Reborn presented itself as a good challenge, and it makes me happy to hear people acknowledge its value.
»I am proud that our operations on FF14 remain strong, and the initial goal was 'to firstly reach 10 years!' so rather than feeling surprised about it, I'd of course like to appreciate the support of the players first, and acknowledge it as a result of the efforts of the Development and Operations teams."
Keeping the game fresh over 10 years — and the playerbase growing — is no easy feat, and Yoshida acknowledged the team must balance the needs of both veteran players and newcomers. Creating excitement with
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