Square Enix’s MMO phenomenon keeps getting stronger. Final Fantasy 14 has just hit a major milestone. On its fifth anniversary, no less. Indeed, Square Enix has announced that more than 14 million people have now played Final Fantasy 14. These are big numbers, especially considering how poor the original release of the game was. The vast increase in popularity has been since the revamped Final Fantasy 14 A Realm Reborn was launched. What’s more impressive is that around four million of the 14 million total players signed on within the last year.
For the unaware, Final Fantasy 14 originally released back in 2010. The original launch was a mess. The game was clearly unfinished and in dire need of a hell of a lot of polish. Square Enix acknowledged that the original launch was poor, so spent some time applying more than a new lick of paint to the game. Since then, Final Fantasy 14 has only got better. New expansion packs and thousands of in-game events have taken place. It’s a living-breathing Final Fantasy online world and people can’t get enough. There was even a Monster Hunter World crossover promotion event.
To celebrate the milestone of surpassing 14 million players worldwide, Square Enix will broadcast a special Final Fantasy 14 live stream. This, according to Videogamer, will weigh in at 14 hours long. We’ll get to spend time with special guests such as developers, voice-actors and even Ryozo Tsujomoto of Capcom (who will talk about the recent crossover as mentioned above). As part of the live stream, Square Enix will detail the now live Final Fantasy 14 4.4 patch: Prelude in Violet.
The official statement regarding this success from Square Enix’s press release (as per Videogamer’s report) is thus:
“Although the original FINAL FANTASY XIV failed to meet expectations, through the support of people in the media, the companies we have worked with, and of course our dedicated players, we were able to launch A Realm Reborn in 2013. FFXIV was indeed reborn, and over the course of these past five years, it has grown to become the title that we all know and love today. I cannot thank you enough. We in the development and operations teams have been working at full capacity ever since the launch of A Realm Reborn, and while we have made our share of missteps along the way, the Warriors of Light continue to spur us onward.”
Have you played Final Fantasy 14? Let us know in the comments!
