8 years after release, the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has set a new player count record on Steam. And that, without a new expansion or anything like it currently available. Rather, the reasons lie with another major MMORPG and its most famous streamer.
What is the new record for FFXIV? On July 4, 2021, not only was independence celebrated in the USA, but there was also something to celebrate in Final Fantasy 14. Because on that day, a new player record was set: 47,538 players were online simultaneously via Steam. This easily surpassed the previous record of 41,200 players who were online during the launch of the current addon Shadowbringers.
Asmongold and WoW are probably “responsible” for the success of Final Fantasy XIV
What is the reason for the success of FFXIV? The rush for Final Fantasy XIV began shortly after Asmongold’s major stream of the game. Asmongold is primarily known for streams of World of Warcraft, although recently there were unpleasant words about him from a Blizzard employee.
Due to the content drought in WoW, Asmongold looked at other MMORPGs and ended up sticking with FF14. The stream was followed by over 2.6 million viewers in total, and probably some of them decided shortly thereafter to try out the game as well.
The stream by Asmongold, combined with a drought in the gaming sector and the holiday in the USA, likely contributed to the player record in Final Fantasy XIV.
So far, player numbers on Steam seem to remain high. With some luck, the new players will stay engaged long enough to also catch the hype around the soon-to-be-released new addon titled Endwalkers in November 2021.
Overall, it seems that the topic of WoW vs FF14 is currently interesting players. A prominent streamer has now created a detailed overview that exactly shows: Which MMORPG suits you better? World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV? Read the article and find out!
