Throughout 2021, Square Enix has been refreshingly transparent about Final Fantasy 14, explaining that the extreme influx of players the MMORPG is enjoying has resulted in server issues, congestion problems, and subsequently, long queue times for players attempting to login. Recently, the development team explained that though it had taken number of steps to curtail those issues in the lead-up to the launch of the highly anticipated expansion Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, due to the global semiconductor shortage, they were unable to buy and install new servers.
True to Square Enix’s warnings, Final Fantasy 14 players have been faced with server congestion issues, leading to long wait times in queues that can last for hours, brought about by the excitement surrounding the early access launch of Endwalker. Producer and director Naoki Yoshida recently published a message addressing the matter, apologizing once again for the server congestions.
“Currently, all Worlds across all regions have been hitting the login cap for extremely long periods of time, and the progression of login queues is being slowed dramatically,” Yoshida wrote. “Across the FFXIV service as a whole, the number of simultaneous logins has reached the hardware limit, and as a result, logging in has required an extremely long time, especially during “peak hours” when we tend to see increased player activity. For this, I am truly sorry.”
Yoshida went on to explain that to make up for the long queue times, Square Enix will be offering seven days of free game time to all players who own Final Fantasy 14 and currently have an active subscription, as soon as Endwalker sees its full launch tomorrow. Depending on how the situation with servers progresses, additional free time may be offered later on as well.
“Considering that we are asking players to wait in queues for extremely long periods of time and the ongoing situation making it difficult to play normally, we have decided that during the official release of Endwalker on December 7, we will be granting 7 days of free game time to all players who own the full version of the game and have an active subscription,” Yoshida wrote. “This also includes players who are currently playing on the 30-day free play period included when registering the full version of the game and those with multiple accounts.
“Furthermore, we may give additional free game time depending on further developments on the congestion situation. The timing at which the free game time will be provided, as well as any additional extensions, will be announced at a later time. We truly appreciate your cooperation and patience regarding the congestion situation.”
Final Fantasy 14 is available on PS5, PS4, and PC.