In Final Fantasy XIV, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has opened the door for an Xbox One version of the MMORPG.
It is a strange situation with Final Fantasy XIV and the Xbox One. The whole time, it seemed to be quite a one-sided relationship. The head of FF XIV, Naoki Yoshida, heavily flirted with Microsoft. However, they consistently showed him the cold shoulder.
The problem, it seemed all these years, was that Yoshida and Square Enix desperately wanted a Final Fantasy XIV where all players could play together across platforms. Currently, this is possible on PC, PS3, and PS4. But there were difficulties with Microsoft; they apparently did not want crossplay with PlayStation. They never really said that outright, but you could read it in Yoshida’s slightly contrite statements.
He struggled with it, telling the press that he really wanted it. There were always attempts, with the Xbox controller in hand, Yoshida continuously brought the topic back to the agenda. This had been going on for years. However, Microsoft somehow did not seem too excited about the subject, talking about “business deals” and “third-party exclusivity”, neither saying “yes” nor “no”, but continually avoiding the topic.
@Alunmufc That would be great, we’d love to have FF14 on Xbox One.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 14, 2016
Now, Microsoft has opened the door for a “togetherness” of consoles through cross-network play, and suddenly, Phil Spencer’s tune sounds quite different. “They would love to have Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox One,” he tweeted now.
Yoshida reportedly said that as soon as there is interest from Microsoft, they would be ready.
Let’s see if the Xbox One version really becomes a reality. Final Fantasy XIV is considered an excellent “classic” MMORPG – currently, there is still quite a drought in that direction on Xbox One. Only Neverwinter and The Elder Scrolls Online are available as MMORPGs on the platform – and both have significantly stronger action elements than FF14.
