The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV does not seem to be able to match the successes in its home country of Japan in Korea.
Final Fantasy XIV launched in Korea in September 2015 and with a subscription payment model it rose into the top 10. A notable success. However, it has been out of the top 10 for a while now.
Now, the version 2.5 “Before the Fall” is set to be launched in South Korea and the publisher there is taking this as an opportunity to reduce the number of servers. From an initial 10 servers, they will go down to 6. A sure sign that the release hype has subsided and player numbers are declining.
In South Korea, there has been a noticeable restructuring of the MMO market in recent months. Numerous PC MMOs from the second tier have been shut down or are without a publisher in their home market, while companies are focusing more on mobile titles. Some industry sites are already talking about the big studio die-off in South Korea and say harsh times are ahead.
Here in the West, Final Fantasy XIV will continue soon with patch 3.2.
