The developers of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI are making a new announcement to the players, giving them only one week to respond.
What game is it about? Final Fantasy XI is the first online installment of the series and was released by Square Enix in 2002. The old-school MMORPG allows thousands of players to play and level up together in a world, with the leveling process being a laborious one that can take a long time.
As usual, there are the typical MMORPG roles of Tank, Healer, and Damage Dealer, which in Final Fantasy XI are further complemented by “Pullers” to bring foes closer and “Debuffers” for weakening enemies.
Not only is the leveling phase arduous, but the difficulty level is also high and demands a lot from the players, which poses a significant challenge. The concept seems to appeal to players, as the developers are currently trying to save their servers.
Here you can watch a trailer for the MMORPG:
Servers will be shut down
What have the developers announced? Back in July 2025, the developers of Final Fantasy XI announced that there are simply far too many players on the servers of the 23-year-old MMORPG. Although this is not a negative thing, the developers had announced at that time that they would be closing the most popular server to distribute the load better.
It seems that the load has not distributed very evenly. The developers have now released another announcement. They explain that the second most popular server, “Bahamut,” will also be shut down soon. This means that the creation of new characters on it will no longer be possible.
Additionally, character transfers will be halted, making it impossible to switch from one server to another. The developers have recognized that this measure does not distribute the load as intended. A third server may soon follow. Therefore, they explain in a footnote on playonline.com that they are also considering other measures. The goal is to better distribute the load.
Until when can new characters still be created? Those who absolutely want to start on the server “Bahamut” need to hurry. The developers have announced that the server will be closed on October 9th. After that, it will no longer be possible to access it.
The initially closed “Asura” server will remain closed according to the developers, because despite slightly reduced player numbers, it is still so popular that the server load is too high for it to reopen. When it will be possible again remains uncertain.
That a 23-year-old MMORPG is so popular that the developers now have to close a second server is extraordinary. Final Fantasy XI is currently experiencing something like a renaissance, which is also due to the successor MMORPG. You can learn more about the background here: 23-year-old MMORPG suddenly so popular that it has to close its largest server
