Square Enix has had to temporarily suspend sales of Final Fantasy XIV because of the tremendous success of its latest expansion, Endwalker.
Writing on the Final Fantasy XIV website, producer and director Naoki Yoshida explained that the sheer amount of people playing Endwalker has far exceeded Square’s server capacity. In order to try and alleviate the long wait times for players logging in, the company has decided to stop selling Final Fantasy XIV to new players to temporarily stem the tide of incoming server traffic.
“Players are currently experiencing extremely long wait times due to the dense concentration of play hours which far exceed our server capacity, especially during the peak times, and so we have decided to temporarily suspend the sale and delivery of FINAL FANTASY XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition,” explained Yoshida.
“Additionally, although those with an active subscription are prioritized to log in, Free Trial players are unable to log in outside of late night and early morning hours, and so we will also temporarily suspend new registrations for the Free Trial,” he added.
This move is targeted only at new players, in order to give existing players a better chance to get into Endwalker. As such, expansion packs and Collector’s Edition digital upgrades will remain on sale so that existing players can upgrade as required.
The temporary suspension of FFXIV sales will be phased in over the next few days as Square Enix negotiates with retailers. The company is also suspending new advertisements for Final Fantasy XIV.
This isn’t the first time that FFXIV has been removed from sale. Square Enix did warn ahead of time that it expected severe congestion for Endwalker. Clearly word has spread far and wide about the quality of Final Fantasy XIV, and our Endwalker review-in-progress certainly seems to suggest that the latest expansion lives up to the game’s legacy. Yoshida has apologised for the login problems and offered free play time for those affected.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.