Final Fantasy XIV is so popular that Square Enix stopped selling the game last December. The servers were over capacity, causing long waits and impacting the experience. Now, producer Naoki Yoshida says digital versions of the game will, once again, be available for purchase starting January 25, thanks to beefed up data centers.
This news was amongst the details Yoshida announced in his latest Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker roadmap.
“Since officially launching on December 7 last year, Endwalker has experienced extremely high levels of congestion, causing our players a great deal of frustration,” wrote Yoshida. “The task of rebalancing jobs also remains, and we will continue working on this and other adjustments.”
“While certain Worlds continue to experience congestion during peak times, our plan to fundamentally address the problem is beginning to take shape, and I’d like to share the roadmap with you.”
Here are the big takeaways:
- Digital sales will resume on January 25 at 5:00 pm (JST). “However, in the event servers continue to experience extreme levels of congestion, we may consider suspending digital sales again,” explained Yoshida. “We are aware that certain Worlds are experiencing high server traffic at peak times, and while some may consider this decision to resume sales to be premature, we ask for your understanding in this matter.”
- The Japanese data centers are being expanded. When A Realm Reborn was released in 2013, there were three logical data centers for 32 Worlds. The number of logical data centers will be increased to four; however, the number of Worlds will remain the same. The added logical data center means that the servers can handle simultaneous logins for all Worlds by an increased number of 50,000 or more. According to Yoshida, “Therefore, from a long-term perspective, we are looking to add one more logical data center and lower the volume of Worlds per logical data center, thereby significantly increasing the maximum number of concurrent logins possible by several thousand per World.”
- A two-phase server expansion is planned for North America, with the first phase going into effect in August 2022 and the second one to be implemented the following spring or summer. The first phase will add one new logical data center, under which there will be four new Worlds. “In the second phase of the expansion, we plan to add four more new Worlds under the newly established logical DC, resulting in a four-logical-DC configuration of 8:8:8:8.” Square Enix is mulling another, even-larger upgrade for Patch 7.0. If these plans materialize, more details will be announced.
- A similar two-phase server expansion is also being planned for Europe. The first phase is slated for July 2022, and the second one is penciled in for the following summer.
- The Oceanian data center will open on January 25 (JST), which is two weeks earlier than planned, and there will be five new Worlds available.
- The currently-suspended Home World Transfer Service will return on Wednesday, January 26 (JST). “Furthermore, upon resumption, the Home World Transfer Service will be available to all players in all data centers, not only to those transferring to the Oceanian Data Center,” explains Yoshida. “Those who wish to change Home Worlds may do so, with the exception of transfers to certain congested Worlds.”
- The Data Center Travel System is planned for the 6.1x patch. This will allow players the ability to visit other Worlds in logical data centers located in the same physical data center. However, players cannot visit Worlds in different regions or physical data centers. The Data Center Travel System does have more restrictions than then World Visit System. According to Yoshida, “Though cross-region travel is technically possible, implementation is still under consideration.”
Yoshida once again apologized for the delays and asked for everyone’s understanding.
“Despite these hardships, however, we believe this server expansion is a significant step forward in providing players the best gaming experience possible in FFXIV,” wrote Yoshida.
“Work on bolstering the servers will continue well into 2023, expending a vast amount of financial resources and manpower, but we will do our utmost to ensure this endeavor has no negative impact on your ability to play, so we would appreciate your support while you continue on your adventures.”