Square Enix has no plans to make Final Fantasy XIV free to play
by Danny Craig
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Square Enix
Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P, has confirmed that there are no plans to make the entire game free to play and that the free trial will be expanded in the future.
The details:
- Speaking with Eurogamer, Yoshida was asked if the game's current free trial would ever be extended to include all of the game's expansions, essentially making it completely free to play without the need for a monthly subscription. The director stated that the free trial will "continue to be expanded," but Square Enix has "no plans of making the client itself free at the moment.”
- Yoshida went on to explain why the game will not transition to the model any time soon, stating that the revenue generated from subscriptions and sales of its expansions allows the game's development team to continue producing new content. "Since a huge amount of time and money has been invested in the expansion packages, the revenue from sales of the expansion package itself is still very important to continue to make expansions on this scale,” Yoshida said. “We would like to constantly aim for the best on the business side as well to continue making a lot of content to be enjoyed.”
- FFXIV currently offers a free trial that allows players to play the entire base game as well as the first two expansions, Heavensward and Stormblood, for free. Those who want to play the game beyond that point will need to buy the other expansions as well as a monthly subscription that costs $12.99 for 30 days at its basic tier and unlocks features like the in-game market board.
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- The Chinese Room, a UK-based developer, has taken over production of the long-awaited RPG Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. The game was originally assigned to Hardsuit Labs, but after numerous delays and internal issues, Paradox Interactive dropped the studio from the project in 2021.
