In a post on the official Final Fantasy XIV blog, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada announced the fruits of its earlier restructuring plan for the beleaguered MMO. Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 is coming and with it comes the suspension of the game’s extended trial period. Square Enix is looking to add a subscription fee ”between late November and early December of 2011.”
“One year has passed since the game’s release, and despite the disappointment surrounding its launch, we have received a wealth of support from you, the players. In the ten months since the Final Fantasy XIV team’s restructuring, we have put forth the utmost effort into not only improving the game’s existing features, but also creating a concrete plan to outline the game’s new direction,” wrote Wada.
“With this, it is my hope that we will continue to receive your support as we will need to bring the unbilled period to a close between late November and early December 2011, and introduce our subscription-based billing system. I appreciate that this decision will not be popular, but it is a necessary step in building upon the foundation our fans and development team have made together and to realize the full potential of Final Fantasy XIV.”
Wada also included new concept art, an outline, content change list, and development roadmap for the game. The full launch of 2.0 is pegged from October 2012, with a closed beta test for the long-delayed PlayStation 3 version of the game coming in November or December of that same year.
In the outline document, Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida explains five pillars of the upcoming change:
- A complete redesign of current repetitive maps
- The implementation of a new graphics engine
- A new server system designed for increased speed and performance
- A fully renewed user interface
- The expansion of in-game community content
Will it be enough to save the game? Will consumers choose to subscribe to a game that’s not done for an entire year? And can an MMO recover from a botched launch without going free-to-play?
