‘It kind of exponentially grows the amount of resources that needs to be allocated’
Back in November of 2019, Phil Spencer declared that Microsoft was going to bring Final Fantasy XIV to the Xbox platform.
It was a nice decree, and if it really could interface with PC and PS4 (now PS5 too), it would mean even more people could adventure together in Eorzea. But it seems like that’s too tall of an order for Square Enix, at least for now.
Speaking to The Washington Post, producer and all-around personality Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida explained that it’s a matter of resources. He puts it pretty plainly, stating: “We provide content on a fairly regular basis and our cycle is rather condensed. And it is a fairly stable cadence that we continue to follow…we have to think about long-term planning with additional platforms, we need additional testing for that particular platform. So it kind of exponentially grows the amount of resources that needs to be allocated.”
Of course, Yoshi P is talking about the recently revealed PS5 edition, which took priority. As well as any potential graphical enhancements on PC, which Square Enix peppers in for each expansion release.
I reached out to both Square Enix and Microsoft last year to see how talks were going, and both offered an emphatic “no comment” on the situation. Now at least we have a hint of why the partnership might not be happening after all. This has been on and off since 2016: it would be nice to see it finally resolved at some point.
It’s weird to think back on all of the MMO problems Microsoft has had over the years: we should have gotten True Fantasy Live Online!
‘Final Fantasy XIV’ director discusses the challenges of building an always-online game [The Washington Post]
Published: Feb 18, 2021 12:00 pm