What you need to know
- Final Fantasy XIV is a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game which came out in 2013.
- The title is only available on PC and PlayStation 4 at the moment.
- Square Enix says it's not available on Xbox One due to Microsoft's cross-play restrictions.
- Talks are ongoing so this may change in the near future.
Final Fantasy XIV is an incredibly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) which came out in 2013 on PC. Since then, the title has received numerous updates and boasts a significant fan following. Even though it's available on PlayStation 4, the game has yet to land on Xbox One. We know that talks have been going on for a while now, but certain cross-play restrictions are keeping Final Fantasy XIV from coming to the console.
In a roundtable discussion between a number of outlets like WCCFtech and Square Enix's Naoki Yoshida, the reason why Final Fantasy XIV hasn't landed on Xbox One was revealed. You can read Yoshida's translated statement below.
Two months ago, I discussed with Phil Spencer. I have explained this before, but we are prepared to do cross-play at any time. To play an MMORPG, there are two regulations for Microsoft which stand in the way of making cross-play feasible. Unless these regulations are rejected, there is no meaning. Simply speaking, matchmaking first-person shooter (FPS) style games has no issues with those two regulations. If we had made an FPS game, then we would already have cross-play. One of the regulations is that players with different platforms cannot chat with each other in game. Then how do you play... The other regulation is you cannot make a community with players on a different platform. You can't form a guild, you can't enter into a link shell... So I would like to have Microsoft change their regulations. And this is not limited to Microsoft, but there are many players who only have cross-play experience with FPS games, especially with the business scene. For an MMORPG, a game where full communication is possible, regulations need to be created considering how massive an MMORPG is to have true cross-play. Final Fantasy XIV will not release cross-play without making this clear because that would only hurt the players. I think we can only try to continue having our discussions with those parties.
Hopefully, Microsoft will change the way it handles cross-play to allow cross-platform chat and cross-platform clubs. Rocket League has had cross-platform chat for a while now, but it appears to be the developer's own solution. These changes seem like they would be easy to make, but the ball appears to be in the company's court at the moment. Final Fantasy XIV is a massive game and landing it on Xbox One and Project Scarlett would be a massive boost for the game catalog.
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