Highlights
- Final Fantasy 14 will finally be coming to Xbox consoles in 2024, opening up the game to a whole new player base and potentially leading to more collaborations between Square Enix and Microsoft.
- Xbox players will have access to the complete Final Fantasy 14 experience, including the base game and all expansions, with cross-play enabled and a new solo-play feature for the main story quest line.
- This partnership between Square Enix and Microsoft signifies a new era for the MMORPG, and may also signal a shift in exclusivity for future Final Fantasy titles, potentially opening the door for more games to come to Xbox consoles.
Square Enix just hosted the North American version of the Final Fantasy 14 FanFest, with the European and Japanese events scheduled for later in the year and early 2024. In addition to a celebration of the 10th anniversary of A Realm Reborn's launch and the redemption of Final Fantasy 14, the event was host to plenty of new announcements regarding what fans can expect in the future for Square Enix's massively successful MMORPG. While the addition of new jobs and the new Dawntrail expansion were things that fans might have anticipated to some degree, what no one (save for maybe Phil Spencer) would have expected is that the event would feature the announcement of Final Fantasy 14 finally coming to Xbox consoles.
After years of "will they/won't they" between Square Enix and Microsoft, including a canceled Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy 14 prior to the Realm Reborn relaunch, Naoki Yoshida and Phil Spencer took the stage at FanFest to announce that Final Fantasy 14 will be coming to Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2024. Additionally, players will be able to experience the game and test its stability on the platform via an open beta months ahead of its release. Not only is this great news for Xbox players who have been hoping for the console to get Final Fantasy 14 for the better part of a decade, but this new partnership may open the door for more collaborations between the two companies.
Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox Signals a New Era for One of the Best MMORPGs
Xbox players are especially fortunate to get Final Fantasy 14 in its current state given how much the game has grown in the intervening years between A Realm Reborn and the upcoming latest expansion Dawntrail. Not only will the launch of the game on Xbox see the base game and all of its expansions arrive at once (which can cumulatively account for roughly 300 hours of gameplay), Final Fantasy 14 is arriving on Xbox with cross-play enabled. Additionally, the new Duty Support system arriving in patch 6.5x makes the entire main story quest line of the base game playable solo.
As soon as the patch goes live, Xbox players will have access to an open beta period that will test the game's stability while also gauging how popular the title will be on the platform. Given that Xbox has traditionally been associated with Western RPGs (especially since its acquisition of Bethesda), the arrival of what is, by all accounts, the most fully-formed version of Final Fantasy 14 on the console is a boon for JRPG fans. With the extensive Free Trial for Final Fantasy 14 expected to make a return (which allows players to carry a character to level 50), it seems like Eorzea is about to get a healthy injection of new players.
Final Fantasy 14's Arrival on Xbox May Just Be the Beginning
In the era of studio acquisitions by hardware manufacturers to secure the best first-party exclusives, rumors have abounded regarding Sony's plans to acquire Square Enix. Given the relationship between the two companies, with the PlayStation having long-been the exclusive platform of choice for many of the studio's marquis releases, it's not a far-fetched idea. While it doesn't rule out the possibility of a future acquisition, the arrival of Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox at least signals that, for now, Square Enix isn't interested. Further, it opens the door for more Final Fantasy titles to come to Xbox consoles.
Square Enix and Microsoft both have stated that the arrival of Final Fantasy 14 to Xbox will simply be the first title that comes as part of a new strategic partnership between the two. Phil Spencer has been committed to increasing Xbox's presence in Japan for years, and securing Final Fantasy 14 and Square Enix's support is a big get toward that goal. With Xbox players having missed out on both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16, this new partnership could render both games timed rather than system exclusives to the PlayStation.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5, with an Xbox Series X/S version launching in Spring 2024.