Final Fantasy 14 is bigger than it’s ever been, with a player base exceeding 24 million players and the game itself being the most profitable Final Fantasy game of all time, and with its new expansion, Endwalker, coming up soon, it’s bound to get even bigger. Big enough, in fact, that Square Enix is bracing for and warning players about inevitable server congestion when the expansion launches in a few days’ time.
In an update published by Square Enix, the publisher said that thanks to “a dramatic increase in the player base in all regions since this summer”, the MMORPG is “experiencing record numbers of active users”- echoing similar statements made earlier in the year. The developer explains that while the global shortage of semiconductor chips has resulted in them being “unable to add new Worlds before the release of Endwalker“, that’s something that will be kept in mind is more chips become available going forward.
As such, Square Enix has warned players that there will likely be server issues when Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker launches. “There is a high likelihood of congestion that will result in Worlds reaching maximum login capacity and lengthy wait times when logging in,” the developer writes. “We would like to apologize for making this sort of announcement at a time when many of you are looking forward to the expansion, as well as for inconveniences that may be caused by congestion.”
That said, though Square Enix has been unable to add additional Worlds, it’s taken several other steps to curtain any forthcoming issues wherever possible.
“Although we were unable to add new Worlds, we have implemented every other measure that was possible,” Square writes, “such as replacing the matching servers with higher-performance machines, optimizing processes, increasing processing speeds, and raising the number of simultaneous logins. We will further enhance our monitoring of the situation to allow for as many players as possible to log in. We ask for your understanding and cooperation regarding this matter.”
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker launches for PS5, PS4, and PC on December 7.