Gaming
‘Final Fantasy XIV’ no longer being sold because its servers are full
FFXIV players who already have active subscriptions can keep playing.
Final Fantasy XIV developer Square Enix is removing its game from store shelves and online shops because the game is very popular, all its servers are full and the developer has been unable to expand its virtual world. Square Enix hasn’t added more servers or Worlds yet due to the ongoing Silicon chip shortage. As a result, some gamers are waiting hours to get into servers to play the MMORPG.
What happened? — According to FFXIV game producer and director Naoki Yoshida, the MMORPG has struggled with server congestion since the release of the Endwalker expansion. At the end of November, Square Enix explained that it was experiencing “record numbers of active users” since the game’s launch back in 2010.
Server struggles — Before the congestion began, Square Enix anticipated issues with its new expansion and actually upgraded its existing servers beforehand to increase the total number of player logins. But even that wasn’t enough to stop the connection issues. Square Enix is trying to get more hardware to enable a larger player base, but has struggled. “Due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors… we were unable to add new Worlds before the release of Endwalker,” the company said in November.
A temporary fix— Now, Square Enix is offering subscribers some short-term solutions, as many haven’t been able to play the game as much as they’d like. The company is giving existing players an extra two weeks of free game time, has plans to patch an existing login bug and is suspending sales to stop additional game traffic. Free trials won’t be a thing anymore, either, but those with existing ones can still play — just not during peak hours.
How will this end? — As the issue persists, it may actually resolve itself over time. Frustrated players unable to log in may end up cancelling their subscriptions, which will result in a smaller player base. That’s not a nice or ideal solution, but at this point, if Square Enix can’t get its hands on more server hardware, it might be the only one.
