What you need to know
- Final Fantasy 14 had a major event in Las Vegas today, where the new Dawntrail expansion was announced.
- Unexpectedly, Xbox lead Phil Spencer was on stage too, and revealed that FF14 will finally come to Xbox after years of waiting.
- Additionally, Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu announced that "where possible," the firm will bring more Final Fantasy games to Xbox.
- Square Enix has been skipping Xbox repeatedly in recent years, owing to exclusivity deals with PlayStation.
Out of nowhere, today, Square Enix was joined on stage by Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox lead Phil Spencer to reveal that Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is finally coming to Xbox consoles in 2024.
Final Fantasy 14 is one of the best MMORPGs on the market, and one of the only credible alternatives to World of Warcraft, an MMO that Microsoft is poised to soon own with the Activision-Blizzard deal likely going through. FF14 has brought some serious competition to WoW in recent years, forcing Blizzard to up its game. It seems Square Enix isn't taking that lying down either, announcing its own fresh expansion coming next summer, dubbed Dawntrail.
Additionally, incoming Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu had some warm things to say about Xbox that fans will no doubt be eager to hear (via Nova_Crystallis). Kiryu praised Phil Spencer for his "support" in bringing Final Fantasy 14 to Xbox. I believe Microsoft had to revert some of its long-standing Windows store policies around third-party content delivery networks in order to help get FF14 onto Xbox, and Spencer was naturally likely instrumental in getting that policy change through. Surprisingly, Kiryu also said that "with today's announcement, and wherever possible, we are planning to bring our games to Xbox."
First off, I have thank you Phil-san for making the Xbox version of FF14 a reality. This is a project that would not have been possible without Spencer's support. Please give him the biggest round of applause. As CEO of Square Enix, we want to continue to deliver fabulous games to fans across the globe. We want to welcome the Xbox community as well. Starting with today's announcement and whenever possible we are planning to bring our games to Xbox for players to enjoy. Final Fantasy XIV is only going to get bigger and better. So I hope Xbox players give it a try.
Takashi Kiryu, Square Enix CEO
Xbox lead Phil Spencer also emphasized that he looks forward to "building" on the relationship that brought Final Fantasy 14 to Xbox, and wants to partner with Square Enix on future games as well.
Notoriously, Square Enix has been skipping Xbox in recent years. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters have all failed to come to Xbox consoles. This was after a previously strong run that included Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy 15, and even the Dragon Quest for the first time with DQ11.
This strong showcase at Square Enix's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival, complete with Phil Spencer on stage, is a strong demonstration that any prior rifts between the firms may have now been healed. Hopefully, we'll start to see more classic Square Enix games hit Xbox consoles in the near future.
