WoW Deception, plus Twitch, kicks off mass exodus in Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV is having its best month.

Yesterday, Square Enix “out of print” digital copies of Final Fantasy XIV making many wonder how could something seemingly limitless like a digital code run out? Additionally, the creation of new characters was briefly banned on all North American data centers. Last week, PCGamesN Noted FF14 had its highest concurrent player count on Steam at 47,000. Earlier this week, according to steamdb, the game broke this record amassing 58,000 simultaneous players, a metric that does not even take into account the players using FF14native launcher’s or console players.

Usually when an MMO likes FF14 is growing like this, it is tied to the release of an expansion or patch of new content. FF14‘s latest patch, “Death Unto Dawn” was released in April. So why the hell are my 100+ player lineups deep and Limsa Lominsa a thick, impenetrable tangle of Sprouts even deeper than usual?

The answer is linked to three things: a meme, a banner, and FF14the biggest competitor of, World of warcraft.

Perhaps the greatest explanation for Final Fantasy XIVTwitch’s sudden boom can be attributed to the Twitch streamer Asmonor. Asmongold is one of Wowthe most popular streamers, or was until July 3, when he traded Azeroth for Eorzea. The move sparked a wave of fans who followed him into the game, much to the chagrin and joy of FF14 regulars. the vod of his adventure as a warrior of light has since become one of his most popular music videos with 2.7 million views. Asmongold said he was determined to see FF14 until its final stages to determine if it is worth “wasting your life”.

Another explanation for FF14the player’s bump can be found in World of warcraftthe story of. In June, Blizzard released Chains of Domination, the latest WoW content patch. With it came the Sanctum of Domination raid – an end-game dungeon that pitted players against one of the Shadowlands‘and WowVillains of all time, Sylvannas Windrunner. The end cutscene of this raid was a huge disappointment– an incomprehensible mess of a story that ended on a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved until the next patch in the distant future. When Blizzard posted a video of the final cutscene of the raid to YouTube, the negative votes were more than three times the video’s positive votes.

This latest misstep seems like the last straw for many gamers, according to Polygon journalist and WoW expert Cass marshall.

“Fans feel frustrated because they are slowly passing through a mysterious city with little payoff or explanation,” they said. “The giant cosmic reach and Thanos-level villainy don’t help either. There are things to love about Shadowlands, but it is drowned under the main plot.

Although Blizzard bragged Shadowlands is the best-selling PC game of all time, there was a 5 million player drop in the number of monthly active Blizzard users between Q1 of 2020 and Q1 2021. It is not possible to determine if these are all Wow players or split among other Blizzard games like Fireplace and Monitoring, but there seems to be a general antipathy towards World of warcraft this Final fantasy is brilliantly equipped to capitalize.

The last culprit in the Great Final Fantasy XIV Awakening is the relentless campaign to get new people to play the game. If you’ve spent any time on social media, there’s a good chance you’ve come across a memorized version of this script:

Did you know that this critically acclaimed MMORPG offers a free trial up to level 60 with unlimited playtime and includes the award-winning first expansion Toward the sky? “

It’s everywhere. In fact, when I asked Square Enix for comment, they didn’t provide player stats or reasons why they are seeing an increase in the number of servers, a spokesperson simply quoted the meme to me. with a wry smiley emoji. (I also asked Wow PR if they had any comments on player dissatisfaction and they too didn’t say anything but offered me a code for free play time.)

Maybe then, the meme is doing its job.

it helps that Final Fantasy XIV is generally a pretty darn good MMO with a community that has a reputation for being the best MMO to offer. Fast scrolling through the FF14 Reddit has many threads welcoming new players, offering advice, and ex-Wow lifers are gushing about day and night difference. I myself am a reformed Wow player who had his whole world has rocked through FF14‘s engaging and effortless storytelling it doesn’t seem too dependent on the creep of naughty cosmic power (yet).

For now, it appears to be Final fantasy‘s Eorzea and we all live there. In April, Square Enix announced FF14 amassed 22 million registered players. This number of fools will only increase when FF14the most recent extension of Endwalker releases November 23.