Square Enix
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail breaks decade-long player count record with expansion release
Final Fantasy 14 has just registered the largest amount of players in the game in over a decade thanks to the release of its Dawntrail expansion.
Not content with its explosion in popularity during the release of its previous expansion, Final Fantasy 14 has just broken its own player count record with the launch of Dawntrail, which marks the beginning of a new main storyline after concluding its previous decade-long story.
Officially launched on July 2, 2024, FFXIV: Dawntrail has managed to attract the most players ever in the history of the MMO of over a decade. The game’s director, Naoki Yoshida, thanked players for their support in a blog post , revealing the player count hadn’t been as high since A Realm Reborn (v2.0 of the game) was released in 2013.
“Hello everyone, this is Naoki Yoshida, Producer and Director of FINAL FANTASY XIV,” started the developer. “I would like to thank you all for your patience and cooperation in dealing with server congestion during the early access for Dawntrail. With your support, we were able to reach a record number of concurrent users we’ve not seen since the release of A Realm Reborn in 2013.”
Of course, this massive success comes even despite the usual launch-day woes that online games tend to have, and as polished as Creative Business Unit 3′s games are, they’re not the exception of this. “It has been a joy to watch you all play, each in your own unique way, but we’ve become aware of several issues that may have proven a hinderance to your overall experience. For that, I sincerely apologize.”
“We’ve already announced on the Lodestone that a number of these issues are presently under investigation, but rest assured we will be doing everything in our power to address them as quickly as possible. You can expect a follow-up announcement as soon as fixes are ready for implementation.”
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the first step in the game’s future
Described by the developers themselves as a “summer vacation”, the expansion sees the players’”Warriors of Light” travel to a new land previously unexplored in the world of FFXIV. Here, new mysteries will reveal themselves and friends and enemies will be made, all with a hefty side of references to previous storylines, Final Fantasy IX, and much more.
Of course, if you’re only just looking to jump into the game and want to experience the whole story, everything is available in the game through an extended trial of the title, which lets new players experience the entire base game and the first two expansions, Heavensward and Stormblood, without the need of purchasing the game at all.
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