It looks like those with Microsoft’s newest home console will soon be able to get their hands on one of the most popular MMORPG’s in recent memory. At the annual Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest, the company revealed that the online title will at long last be making its way to the Xbox Series X/Series S. The announcement was made by none other than Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, who announced that the title would be gracing their flagship console. As of this writing, Final Fantasy XIV will only be available on the current generation of hardware, meaning that the last generation, the Xbox One, will not be getting a port.
To say that it’s been a while since we’ve seen an online Final Fantasy title on an Xbox system is an understatement. It’s been more than 18 years since Square Enix released their flagship series in an online capacity for Microsoft’s home consoles, with the last one being Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360 in 2006. That iteration of the title was also an Ultimate Edition, which included the base game along with all of the expansions. By that time, Final Fantasy XI had been available on PC and the PlayStation 2 since 2002.
While this is exciting news for Xbox Series X/Series S owners, no official release date was given, only a time frame of Quarter 2 2024 (middle of the year). However, they did announce that an open beta test will take place in early 2024, slated for sometime in between January and February. As the year progresses, we’re more than likely going to have a much more concrete time frame for that beta test, and hopefully an actual launch date. As we’ve already mentioned, Final Fantasy XIV has turned into a major powerhouse, and is often considered one of the best MMORPG’s of all time, rivaling only Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.