According to a report, a mobile port of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV is in development. This is said to stem from a deal between Square Enix and Tencent. The Chinese gaming giant already used the PC game League of Legends as a template for a mobile game back in 2015 and was extremely successful with it. A top MMORPG on iOS and Android could change the industry: Final Fantasy XIV would finally dethrone WoW, believes MeinMMO author Schuhmann.
Where does the information come from? The news comes from the forum “exputer” and here from a “reliable leaker” named Kurakasis:
- Final Fantasy XIV Mobile is currently in development
- It is being created as a joint project between Square Enix and Tencent
- This has been learned from sources.
Strategic alliance was formed 6 years ago
This is how the rumor is substantiated: The leaker states that the two companies, Square Enix and Tencent, formed an official “strategic” alliance in 2018. In a statement, both companies spoke about reaching a “global audience” (via square-enix).
In 2021, the president of Square Enix also confirmed that some projects are underway:
We are in constant communication with Tencent, and there are some projects that are in progress, but I will not comment on the details at this time, nor on the outcomes of the next three years.
In February 2024, it became known that Tencent had begun a mobile port of a title from Square Enix but has since halted it. The port was for Nier (via reuters).
Tencent has already brought a game to mobile that was originally for PC
How likely is it that Final Fantasy XIV will be released for mobile? The rumor is not yet confirmed, but it is certainly within the realm of possibility, as it fits what is known about the strategy and goals of both companies.
Unlike WoW, Final Fantasy XIV has already dared to appear on “non-PC” platforms. The MMORPG has been available on PlayStation for many years and, as of March 2024, also on Xbox. A keyboard and mouse are therefore not necessarily required to play the MMORPG.
The head of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida, has repeatedly emphasized that he wants Final Fantasy XIV to appear on as many platforms as possible. Yoshia would apparently like to bring his MMORPG to the Nintendo Switch as well.
Like WoW, League of Legends was long considered a game that could only be played on PC and that mobile would not work. At least that’s what Riot Games believed. However, Tencent needs mobile games for the Chinese market, which largely relies on mobile, and therefore ventured a mobile clone of League of Legends back in 2015, which became a huge success in China as “Honor of Kings.” By now, Riot Games has also realized that League of Legends can be played without a mouse and keyboard, and is even developing a mobile version of LoL.
Therefore, the rumor seems quite plausible: it certainly fits perfectly with Tencent and what can be expected from a strategic partnership between Tencent and Square Enix.
Mobile port could primarily target China and South Korea
This is what it would mean for the MMORPG genre: With a mobile port, Final Fantasy XIV could set new standards. Here, a new target audience could be addressed that cannot be reached through console and PC.
That would be a huge potential new player base and could officially place the MMORPG at number 1 in player counts. A mobile MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV would mainly target the Chinese and South Korean gaming market, where consoles play no role and playing core games on mobile is widespread.
Mobile gaming has a different culture in Asia than in the West, where mobile games are often viewed as casual games similar to Facebook games or browser games. In South Korea, NCSoft has already released the most successful PC MMORPGs from the “Lineage” series as mobile titles and completely turned around in 2019.
In the last 5 years, Final Fantasy XIV has significantly contributed to WoW’s decline and has temporarily overtaken WoW in the eyes of the public in 2021, after Blizzard’s MMORPG experienced a revival with “WoW Classic” in 2019.
Many believe that the MMORPG genre has seen its heyday, but there are still large MMORPGs that are regularly expanded and still played with enthusiasm. Moreover, MMORPGs are no longer limited to PC only but are coming to other platforms: The best MMORPGs of all time for PC and consoles: The MeinMMO community has chosen
