Square Enix Considered Ending Support For This 23-Year-Old Game, But Too Many People Still Play It
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According to Yoji Fujito, the producer and director of Final Fantasy XI, ongoing support for the game could have ended in 2024. Player interest was high enough that Square Enix ultimately decided not to stop supporting the MMO, though, and a series of new updates is expected throughout this spring and summer.
Final Fantasy XI was the first MMO in the long-running RPG series, and it first launched for PS2 in Japan on May 16, 2002. Live-service support for the MMO, which is now played on PC, has continued ever since. Final Fantasy XI, which GameSpot reviewed all the way back in 2003, has survived Square’s merger with Enix, the disastrous launch and lauded rebirth of Final Fantasy XIV, and all of the other changes in the MMO space that have happened in the 23 years since its launch. It’s not the most popular MMO, but it has a dedicated and passionate fanbase.
That dedicated fanbase ultimately saved the game. In an interview with Dengeki Online, translated by Automaton Media, Fujito explained that Square Enix had previously considered ending support for Final Fantasy XI by 2024 following the end of The Voracious Resurgence storyline.
