Square Enix has promised fans can expect a smooth launch of the upcoming Final Fantasy 14 expansion Dawntrail.
Dawntrail is due for release July 2 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and follows on from the Endwalker expansion, which was released at the end of 2021.
However, the launch of Endwalker was so popular, Final Fantasy 14 servers struggled to cope. Many players experiencing hours of queueing, to the point that Square Enix was forced to offer players free game time to make up for the congestion and stop digital sales until more servers were made available.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida said the Endwalker launch issues were “source of great inconvenience” with the studio being “excessive with planning and preparing servers” for the launch of Dawntrail.
“There’s almost no chance that we would face a situation where we cannot accommodate the number of players required,” he added, with a number of new servers ready to go online with a press of a button. I think we should be good in terms of preparation,” he added.
Square Enix has already had a glimpse at the anticipation for Dawntrail as well. Pre-orders for the expansion offered players early access to the game and real world bonuses but when they went live in March, a number of global Square Enix storefronts went down.
A number of those pre-order bonuses were based on Final Fantasy 9, with many fans speculating a remake could be on the cards. “You may have noticed a lot of Final Fantasy 9 references here, but the reason is a secret,” said Yoshida.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail adds a graphical update, new areas, and playable Female Hrothgar this July
Square Enix shares new details: https://t.co/w8DgBTIrAQ pic.twitter.com/FqnhOv398R
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 6, 2024
Yoshida previously confirmed the launch date for Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail would only be announced when the studio was confident it wouldn’t be moved. However, earlier this year he admitted that Square Enix had pushed the release back by a week to avoid clashing with the launch of Elden Ring expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree.
In other news, more details about Sony’s Overwatch-inspired live-service sci-fi shooter Concord have been revealed including a potential price point.
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