The world of MMORPGs has seen a lot of changes since the release of Final Fantasy XI Online in 2002. This game has been one of the most popular in the genre and has been in the works for several years, with the latest expansion coming in 2020. But now, after 20 years of support, Square Enix has announced that the game will go into maintenance mode, which means that the servers will continue to work, but with limited support.
Square Enix’s announcement that FFXI will be entering maintenance mode has come as a shock to many gamers who have spent years exploring the vast world of Vana’diel. However, the company has ensured that the game will continue to work and that there will be more compact updates for the rest of 2023.
In case you missed it: Final Fantasy XI: We spoke to Akihiko Matsui about the MMO’s relationship with its community and how they grew together
These are updates related to Ambuscade, weapon enhancement and master trials. There will also be adjustments to the hardware of the servers to ensure that the MMORPG works in the long term. That being said, you shouldn’t expect new expansions, story content, or anything like that.
It is worth mentioning that this news also comes with changes for the development team. What happens is that Akihiko Matsui, chief producer of Final Fantasy XI will leave his position and the position will be occupied by Yoji Fujito.
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Why did these changes come to Final Fantasy XI?
Now, if Final Fantasy XI still has players, why was the decision made to put it in maintenance mode and make adjustments to its development team?
As Fujito explained, Final Fantasy XI is a game with more than 20 years of history and continuing to work on it meant that some members of its development team had to give up other career opportunities. So now these creatives will move to other Square Enix projects so that “the fruits of their efforts take shape in other products.”
What do you think about this new? Would you like Square Enix to make an offline version of Final Fantasy XI to preserve it? Tell us in the comments.
Final Fantasy XI was first released in 2002 for PC and PS2, but received a port for Xbox 360 years later. You can learn more about this long-lived MMORPG by clicking here.
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