The fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV aims to develop content even faster and switch to annual updates.
The head of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida, gave an interview in Japanese that has received a lot of attention and has been summarized by fans in English. The central statement is that the foundation has been laid to really get started. New game content is set to arrive even faster in the future. This fits with today’s times.
The upcoming expansion “Heavensward” will be released approximately one year and 9 months after the game’s launch. Yoshida has not yet provided a specific date. For the next expansion 4.0, they aim to stick to a one-year timeline.
The three new classes in Heavensward:
Add-Ons like Blockbusters
Between these expansions, larger patches will be released every 3 months, bringing new game content. Between these larger patches, there will be two or three smaller updates.
The add-ons of Final Fantasy XIV should feel like major “blockbusters,” like a new world, similar to “WoW.”
The content up to 3.5, that is, well into Heavensward, is already prepared and planned.
Mein MMO thinks: These are the two magical words every MMO fan dreams of hearing: “More content.” So far, Final Fantasy XIV has managed to do the seemingly impossible: revive a dead game and repair a botched first impression.
If anyone can achieve this milestone of “one full expansion per year” in today’s times, it is probably Yoshida and his team. Games from earlier generations managed to do this too, but industry giant World of Warcraft, for instance, has been struggling for at least 6 years to stay on schedule. And ugly content droughts are the result. So far, hardly anyone has complained about something like this in FF XIV. With an annual expansion, if it indeed is as extensive as suggested here, the future of Final Fantasy XIV looks bright.
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