Place 7 – Final Fantasy XIV
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Square Enix | Platform: PC, PS4 | Release Date: August 27, 2013 | Model: Pay2Play
What is known about the total number of players? Not as regularly as Elder Scrolls Online, but the officials from Square Enix occasionally talk about the player numbers of Final Fantasy XIV. The last update dates back to January 2024.
In a post on X, the developers celebrated: “Over 30 million adventurers!!! A huge thank you to all our warriors of light!” Similar to ESO, not all of these are buyers. Thanks to the free trial version, interested parties can now easily level up to level 70.
The launch trailer for the Dawntrail expansion of FFXIV:
What kind of game is this? Final Fantasy XIV is one of the most popular MMORPGs here in the West. It started weakly in 2011 and gradually made its way into the hearts of players through the major overhaul with “A Realm Reborn” in 2013 as well as the subsequent expansions and updates.
The MMORPG partly resembles classic Japanese role-playing games, which is due to its strong focus on story. In the endgame, you will also encounter many tricky raids, dungeons, and quests. However, you need to come to terms with the combat system, which feels sluggish and slow, especially at the beginning.
Who is this worthwhile for? FFXIV is mainly aimed at fans of Final Fantasy and players who enjoy visiting dungeons and raids or have a strong story focus. Despite the slow start and criticism of Dawntrail, the MMORPG is one of the best in the genre, and given the changes to Free2Play, every MMO fan should at least give it a try. Did you know? Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail has so many cutscenes that you could watch the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings twice.
