Final Fantasy 11 Nearly Shut Down But Was Saved By Fans

Summary

Square Enix considered shutting down Final Fantasy 11 but changed its mind thanks to strong fan support.
The developer planned to shift the game to maintenance mode after The Voracious Resurgence, but fans kept joining the servers and showing a lot of support.
Final Fantasy 11 is now receiving new updates, and Square Enix will continue supporting it moving forward.

The current director of Final Fantasy 11 has recently revealed that Square Enix had considered shutting down the game for good, but the studio ultimately didn’t take that route because the game continued to receive strong support from fans. Final Fantasy 11 recently celebrated its 23rd anniversary, and instead of fading, its popularity continues—with fans still logging into the game—prompting Square Enix not only to keep the servers live but to roll out new updates as well.

Final Fantasy 11 is an MMORPG released back in 2002, marking the first online entry in the massively popular Final Fantasy series. Much like many other games in the genre at the time, players must create a character from five distinct races and embark on adventures across a large open world, with varied landscapes and environments. Players take on different quests while exploring the FF11 narrative and delving into the lore of the realm. The game features a job system with different roles, a "Trust" system to summon NPC allies for assistance, and engaging combat that involves strategic coordination. Over the years, FF11 has received several major updates that expanded its content, bringing new experiences for fans. However, Square Enix also considered the possibility of shutting the game down.

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By Liam Ferguson

During an interview with Dengeki Online, Yoji Fujito, the current game director, revealed that there was a strong chance Final Fantasy 11’s updates would stop in 2024 and shift to a “maintenance mode,” which basically means that active development would end—no longer adding new content—though Square Enix would still handle basic tasks like fixing bugs and keeping the servers online. Fujito added that there was even a real possibility of completely shutting down the game if The Voracious Resurgence started “losing its momentum.”

Final Fantasy 11 Was About to Shift to Maintenance Mode

Luckily for fans, the studio eventually scrapped the idea when it saw that players were still actively logging in, which encouraged the developer to plan even more content for Final Fantasy 11. Earlier this year, the developer announced that it would introduce more solo content in 2025 following a user survey where players expressed their hopes for more solo play options.

Additionally, Square Enix has recently announced that Final Fantasy 11 will get a Character Race Change Service, allowing players to pay in order to alter their appearance and base stats—a feature that already exists in Final Fantasy 14. As long as players keep jumping into Final Fantasy 11 and its popularity holds, they can rest assured the developer will continue rolling out updates.

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