Final Fantasy XIV won’t go F2P, wants fans’ trust back

To say the launch and overall reception of Final Fantasy XIV was negative is a bit of an understatement. Even so, Square Enix is dedicated to making FFXIV: A Realm Reborn fulfill the promises made before the game’s initial launch, and one of those promises was keeping the game pay to play.

VG247 interviewed Naoki Yoshida, director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV while the game is down for A Realm Reborn‘s development. In what will be a relief to some and a disappointment for others is his rejection of a free to play model for his game.

In order to regain the trust they had lost and to move forward on promises made pre-launch, Yoshida has stated that the game will not be heading toward being F2P anytime in the near future.

“One of the promises we originally stated was that we would release the game with a subscription model. Players will be able to play it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days in the year if they paid a subscription fee,” said Yoshida. “So to regain the trust of our players we must of course fulfill this promise. Right now we believe that to be more important than any kind of business decision.”

F2P or P2P? That is the question.

He also questions whether or not the free to play model is good for every game, and as a player of both F2P and P2P MMOs, it’s interesting to think about.

From a player perspective, the pay to play model tends to harbor more community and encourage more active playing as players are paying out of pocket for the experience. The communities of free to play games tend to be less tightly knit and there is less of a drive to keep going and seeing all there is to see. Going with pay to play is the logical option for a director looking not only to appease the core audience, but also to make sure that the work gone into the game has an audience.

No matter your stance on the issue, the dedication of Naoki Yoshida and his team to brighten the future of Final Fantasy XIV is welcome news. I look forward to what FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has to offer when it launches next year.