introduction

Final Fantasy XIV, the second massive multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) in the Final Fantasy series, was first released in 2010. To call its initial release lackluster is an understatement: the game was missing most of its key features and had sacrificed substance of gameplay and story for graphics quality. If you have any interest in game development, the documentary on the first version of the game (1.0) is fascinating and well worth a watch, and contains no substantial spoilers.

The short version is that almost immediately after its release, in wake of damning player and professional reviews, the decision was made to completely remake the game. At the helm of the project was Naoki Yoshida, who put the production team on a grueling schedule to not only rebuild the game in a short timeframe, but also maintain the currently published game. That they were able to do both was nothing short of miraculous.

The game was relaunched as A Realm Reborn (2.0) in 2013, to significantly more acclaim than the original mangled release. Since then, Final Fantasy XIV has maintained a regular cycle of substantial updates every three to four months, with a new expansion every two to three years. To put in perspective how far the game has come, the release of the Endwalker expansion in 2021 was so popular that players had to wait hours every day to log in for the first few weeks, during which time new sales of the game were halted. It’s come a long way.

Final Fantasy XIV is presented as a linear story; it’s frequently referred to as “five JRPGs in one package.” Each expansion is a 30 to 50 hour experience, with the addition of five patches over the course of two years to bridge the story between expansions. Hours upon hours of the game are simply about watching cutscenes and reading dialogue — standard fare for any JRPG, but less so in the MMO genre as a whole. It can take a leisurely player months to play through the story from A Realm Reborn to Endwalker, which serves as a completed arc for the overarching story. The general gist of the story is that the player character starts out as a brand-new adventurer, and over the course of the game, become a renowned hero.

But, of course, there’s a little more to it.

If you’re interested in trying out the game for yourself, there’s a generous free trial with no time limits. It contains the base game, A Realm Reborn, the first and second expansions, Heavensward and Stormblood, and almost all content released for levels 1 through 70. The game can be played on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, with full crossplay between all platforms.

top of page ∗ site index
FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. © SQUARE ENIX.
No infringement intended. Ghost of You is © Larissa, 2026