Final Fantasy 11’s biggest server has been closed to new players by Square Enix, as it’s suffering from high congestion due to the game’s popularity.
Yes, that’s Final Fantasy 11, not the more recent Final Fantasy 14. It’s been 23 years since the company’s first Final Fantasy MMORPG, but player numbers have been “trending upward recently”.
That’s according to producer and director Yoji Fujito, who shared a statement explaining the steps taken to ensure stable operations on the Asura server.
“Thanks to you, Final Fantasy 11 recently welcomed its 23rd year of service and continues to be enjoyed by numerous players around the globe,” said Fujito. “In fact, thanks in part to players that are new to the game, as well as those that are returning home to Vana’diel after being away for a while, the overall player population has been trending upward recently.
“The Development and Operations teams have been working hard to help all of you enjoy your gaming experience even more, but it has been discovered that the concentration of player populations on certain Worlds has led to a series of unexpected issues that have managed to affect the quality of that experience somewhat.”
As such, from 29th July, players will no longer be able to transfer characters to the Asura server, nor will they be able to make new characters on the server. Additionally, the Vana’diel Adventurer Recruitment Programme will be suspended on Asura.
Note that players with an existing character on Asura will still be able to make a new one – it’s just closed to new players.
Fujito added that if similar issues arise on other servers, the team is considering other measures to equalise populations.
“In addition to developing and revising in-game content, we are working hard to maintain an environment where players around the world can enjoy the game, so we appreciate your continued support of Final Fantasy 11,” concluded Fujito.
So why is Final Fantasy 11 still proving popular?
For starters, short term discount campaigns have certainly given the playerbase a boost, as well as continued content updates.
But more so, Final Fantasy 14 included a raid series based on Final Fantasy 11 – Echoes of Vana’diel – which has raised interest in the older game. Coupled with the current decline of Final Fantasy 14 following its less popular Dawntrail expansion, it seems players are making the jump across.
There’s also the Magic the Gathering Final Fantasy collection, which has raised the profile of Final Fantasy 11 alongside other games in the series.
Meanwhile, Square Enix recently announced Final Fantasy 14 will end support for the Windows 10 OS in October, in-line with Microsoft doing the same.