Square Enix: An Xbox version may still be coming for Final Fantasy XIV (update)

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Square Enix says the MMORPG has enough content for another five years of expansions.

Final Fantasy Xiv
Final Fantasy Xiv (Image credit: Square Enix)
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Update Feb, 18, 2021: An Xbox version might be coming in the future.

What you need to know

  • Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG released in 2013.
  • It is one of the most popular online games, rivaling World of Warcraft.
  • Despite rumors the game might be coming to Xbox, a recent report says that's not in the works.

In an interview with The Washington Post released today, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn producer and director Naoki Yoshida discussed the forecast for the hit MMORPG, which continues to have a fanbase that rivals World of Warcraft eight years after its release. Unfortunately for Xbox players, a port of the PC and PS4 game isn't likely anytime soon, despite rumors that have been floating around for years.

Yoshida told the Post that he would love to see the game on other systems, but that most of his team's time is spent working on expansions. Endwalker, the fourth expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, was announced this month and is expected to be released this fall. It will end the main story up to this point in the game by taking players to the moon as part of an apocalyptic event.

On the topic of bringing FFXIV to other platforms, Yoshida said: "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 need to be allocated." The Post interview inferred from its discussions that Square Enix isn't planning an Xbox version "in the near future."

Square Enix remains strongly committed to the game, which currently has 20 million subscribers, and hopes to grow that number to 30 million. If the current growth rate continues, Yoshida said he believe Square Enix will continue to support it for at least another five years.

While Xbox players likely won't have a chance to try Final Fantasy XIV anytime soon, you can still get some similar fun by checking our our list of the best Xbox One role-playing games.

Update Feb. 18, 2021: Xbox version might be coming in the future

In a new interview with VG247, Naoki Yoshida elaborated more on the Xbox version, noting that there are no boundaries holding the Xbox version back.

There are no obstacles for developing the Xbox version. We were able to undertake development and provide our service thanks to the immense efforts that Phil has invested. For that we are truly grateful!The sole factors are the workload and the order of steps. Now when it comes to the Xbox version, there's unfortunately not much I can say presently but just that we cannot work on all the steps simultaneously and need to follow the order for proceeding with these things. Since we're currently involved in the development of Endwalker and preparing the PS5 version to follow on from the title's service on PS4, it'd be appreciated if we can return to touch upon the Xbox version once things have settled!

It's a simple case of them focusing on the PS5/PC version at the moment, and that they hope to address the Xbox version in the future.

Samantha Nelson
Samantha Nelson
15 Comments
  • PC always wins. PC is simply a better gaming platform than Xbox; it plays all Xbox games and so much more. Xbox may be cheaper, but it has no where near the same amout of games as a PC. And at the end of the day, it's about investing in the platform which has the games you want to play.
  • Definitely. Consoles are a subset of what a PC can do, even in gaming. Their exclusives and features are artificial, they are weaker systems so they need extra things to sell their hardware (which is cheaper because it's sold at a loss and subsidized by game sales).
  • 99% of PC's are a subset of what PCs can do. So spare us this PC are so much better talking point crap. Most PCS that people are gaming on are graphically less powerful then the Xbox One X (not the Series X but X1X). Simple facts you seem to ignore. Most gaming on PCs are at the resolution 1080p, next 1440p. People on PCs gaming at 4K is a subset of a subset. Thr idea of PC being better is only realized by smaller and smaller group as people don't upgrade their GPUs and CPUs at the rate they used to so the spread of actual PCs that will be better then consoles get smaller and smaller. Again you ignore that majority of PC gamers are well below PS5, Series X and S and majority are below the One X in capability. But yay for the 1% that aren't. /s
  • Yeah, and how do you play Final Fantasy XIV on an Xbox One X? You can't. Strawman arguments about hardware %'s and specs won't result in that game, and several others on PC, coming to Xbox. If everything you said actually mattered, why did Square Enix choose PC for that game over Xbox? Because nothing you said actually results in a game like that actually doing well on Xbox. PC simply has a far more diverse userbase, that enjoys a far more diverse range of games, from MMO's, eSports, Sandbox, Survival, Indie, Mods, Strategy and more, additionally to all the generic console style AAA stuff you're talking about. And the reason 1080p and 1440p is typically prefered on PC is because you don't notice that much of a difference with 4K on a 21-28" monitor to justify the price of the monitor or the GPU to empower it; most PC gamers don't sit in front of 40-55"+ monitors, obviously. Console games need 4K far more than PC. PC gamers prefer high frame rate over resolution. With that said, the new range of nVidia's cheaper 3060/Ti cards are already technically better than what the consoles are capable of, and can do Ray Tracing, etc, better than the consoles, thanks to DLSS. The 1060 is the GPU king atm on Steam, and no doubt, gradually we will see these cards overtake it in time. But again, specs alone aren't going to decide which platform gets the games.
  • Completely missed the point if you think this is about specs. Which even then, now we're at it, let me tell you that right now statistically there are more PCs capable of Series X level quality than Xbox Series X in the world. And as time passes, PCs that weren't as capable as the XSX will surpass it as they upgrade, while that cool box will stay like that all of its lifespan.
  • Not really. I care about my game lib (and save). I dropped consoles and switched to PC in 2013 and switched again to Xbox in 2016.
    Xbox switched to Hyper-V and Virtual Machine in 2016, PC is still native executing games.
    HV & VM is the foundation of streamlined BC/FC, quick resume and xCloud. Xbox platform also have XPA, which allows me to game on-the-go without a viable internet connection (on my "Xbox Handheld").
    * what pjosephson said is correct, most PC gamers game on a weak rig.
  • Most PC gamers generate more money than Xbox gamers. The PC games industry generates about the same / more money than all consoles combined, every year. Steam has an active 120 million monthly players, regularly breaking concurrent user records; last week saw 25 million users online at once. PC dominates streaming culture; on Twitch, the top played games are all on PC. PC is the main gaming platform in most Asian countries. The diversity of games and gamers on PC is far richer than any other platform. Using 4K and AAA games as your only metric is meaningless and doesn't result in more games coming to a platform, like Xbox.
  • Dude, Xbox is the base of Xcloud because it's damn cheap hardware, and MS had bootloads of spare Xbox Ones and their components. Also it runs severely capped versions of games at 720p. Not ideal. Not a point to make there.
  • Whose fault is this? Microsoft had a strict policy that clashed with some of their community or game elements?
  • No they figure they can get some cash from Microsoft and then missing resources will magically be available. I find it strange knowing that XCloud looks to position itself a big option for gamers in Asia that Square Enix could capitalize on supporting all those mobile devices without having to do anything more then be on Xbox. Because certainly Sony has no infrastructure or mobile in play at the moment. I personally don't care for Final Fantasy so it doesn't affect me. But, feel bad for those that do care.
  • I believe the post inferred incorrectly, the director was inferring in a polite manner that he needs more resources to work on a xbox port. The key element that confirm this - he says his team are currently working flat out on other projects therefore they do not have enough time and people available to work on a port. I'm abit surprised people are missing this basic logistic element lol...
  • Yup working hard on Avengers DLC nobody is going to buy.
  • Working hard on the company cash cow. This team isn't involved in the avengers game.
  • Okay, they ask for money to do it because they're far into rhe development cycle and would take more work, but why wasn't it released initially for Xbox? A lot, if not all of the recent FF titles have been on Xbox from day one (after those dumb Sony exclusives). Edit: https://www.dualshockers.com/final-fantasy-xiv-xbox-naoki-yoshida/ Apparently initially it was more than just allocating money and as I was mentioning, there were Xbox policies that complicated a release of the game beyond a port. Don't be so dismissive of opinions of others, they might know just a little bit more than you. We all benefit and learn if we respect each other.
  • Forget it, I want Final Fantasy VII Remake on Windows PCs; Square (Enix) should have stopped being pro-PlayStation ever since the original FFVII (they could’ve used some help to make N64 versions of their PS1 FF titles just like what Capcom did for Resident Evil 2) but no, all their big releases have to go first to Sony’s consoles then to the hands of PC and Xbox and Switch gamers and everyone else at a way later date than their original releases (because really, Kingdom Hearts III comes to PCs TWO YEARS after being on PS4 and possibly Xbox One, but only KH and Dragon Quest, no such thing as FF). If only Square Enix took the time of their lives to provide modern PC gamers a way to experience FFVII Remake without having to pay more for a PS4 or 5...