Final Fantasy XIV is getting another major overhaul, and its free-to-play model is also ending. Version 2.0 will release sometime between November and December of this year, and will feature a nearly complete rebuilding of the game, and an end to F2P.
Says Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida, “In the ten months since the Final Fantasy XIV team’s restructuring, we have put forth the utmost effort into not only improving the game’s existing features, but also creating a concrete plan to outline the game’s new direction.
We will need to bring the unbilled period to a close between late November and early December 2011, and introduce our subscription-based billing system. I appreciate that this decision will not be popular, but it is a necessary step in building upon the foundation our fans and development team have made together and to realise the full potential of Final Fantasy XIV.
As part of this process, there will be a period required for switching over to a new client and new servers, after which there will be a large transfer of data when service is brought back online. After the new client is completed, new software for the PC version will be distributed online, and can be acquired free of charge. Character data and progress for players already playing the PC version will also be preserved, allowing those players to continue using their in-game avatars.”
A PlayStation 3 version of FF XIV will be dropping sometime between October and December of 2012.
SOURCE | EGM
