Square Enix recently held a special Letter From the Producer livestream which was hosted by Final Fantasy XIV Producer Naoki Yoshida. In the stream Yoshida outlined some updates for the extremely popular MMORPG, with the two biggest aspects being that solo players will see some more support and a new visual upgrade coming at a later time. With the final expansion Endwalker coming out at the end of 2021, many would think that Square Enix would eventually dwindle down content and begin to look at future projects. However, the exact opposite is happening as the company revealed that the game will continue to receive support “for the next 10 years.”
In addition to this exciting news, the free trial for the game has also officially been reopened for everyone. Players can register here if they want to try the game out. The trial, along with the entire supply of digital copies, was halted after the game’s servers were unable to cope with the insane amount of traffic when Endwalker released. Square Enix is now ready to allow new players to give the game a try before delving into the world of Hydaelyn. This new trial will also include content from the previous expansions, giving players a plethora of content to try out.
As for some of the solo player content, Yoshida stated that starting in April that the trusts system that allows single players to go through main storyline dungeons with A.I. characters will be greatly expanded. For instance, every single main scenario dungeons will now use this system, with support for the subsequent expansions coming in later cycle patches. This will allow players who want to play the game on their own to enjoy the story at their own pace and their own flow.
The biggest takeaway from this stream however was when Yoshida revealed that they work had already begun on a major graphical overhaul for Final Fantasy XIV. This visual update will be released with the next major update and will provide a much higher resolution texture as well as better lighting and shadow effects. Yoshida stated that they weren’t going for a realistic look, but just some enhancements that allow it to remain true to the title’s art style. In short, don’t expect any ray tracing from this one.
Yoshida also briefly touched on some of the upcoming patches and what each one will entail. Patches 6.1 to 6.5 will contain new main scenario quests along with a new alliance raid and a new PVP scenario. 6.2 will have new weapon enhancements, a new dungeon, and an island where players can go and relax. Lastly, Yoshida brought up NFT’s and answered players concerns regarding the potential use within the title. Yoshida stated that they “don’t intend on incorporating any sort of NFT element in the game at this point.” Yoshida’s remarks come shortly after a string of developers and companies revealed that they would be implementing them, much to the dismay of their respective fanbases. However, handful have retracted their statements and changed their stance on them soon after.
As for Final Fantasy XIV, the continuation and promised support for ten more years is a groundbreaking aspect in today’s video game market. Yoshida not only turned the entire thing around when he took over the project, he made it into one of the industries biggest powerhouses. Here’s to ten more years!