Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion has officially been released and over the week its has picked up steam, with potential new developments, including a mobile version in collaboration with Tencent.
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Final Fantasy XIV's latest expansion, Dawntrail, achieved a milestone for the installment since its release last week, despite facing several challenges. According to a recent blog post by director Naoki Yoshida, the MMORPG reached a record number of concurrent players. Yoshida expressed his gratitude to the community, stating, "With your support, we were able to reach a record number of concurrent users we’ve not seen since the release of A Realm Reborn in 2013."
While exact figures were not disclosed, Yoshida still made note of this achievement, especially considering the launch issues that plagued the expansion. On SteamDB, the game had a recent 24-hour peak of 72,464 players, which is not far behind the peak of 95,150 players during the launch of Endwalker three years ago.
"It has been a joy to watch you all play, each in your own unique way," Yoshida said. "But we’ve become aware of several issues that may have proven a hindrance to your overall experience. For that, I sincerely apologize."
Despite its record-breaking player count, Dawntrail currently holds the lowest Metacritic score among all FFXIV expansions. The expansion received a Metascore of 79/100, though it is important to note that this current score was based on only four critic reviews. In comparison, Endwalker received a score of 92. User ratings on Metacritic have also been mixed, with Dawntrail sitting at a 7.2/10 based on 643 user ratings.
Last week, Naoki Yoshida issued an apology for the early access issues that affected the Dawntrail expansion. Problems included the Xbox version becoming unresponsive during area transitions, issues with several ultimate abilities, and animation glitches. Yoshida assured players that these issues are being addressed, with patches and updates in the pipeline to improve the overall experience.
Game8 gave the expansion an 80/100, noting that while it is worth it for longtime players, new players might find issues with the story's pacing and other launch-related problems.
FFXIV Reportedly Getting Mobile Version
In other news, FFXIV is reportedly coming to mobile via a partnership with Tencent. According to Exputer, this mobile port is borne out of the partnership between Square Enix and Tencent, originally announced in 2018. While no official project has been announced by either parties, the report suggested that the companies are now working on a mobile version of FFXIV.
Square Enix's president, Yosuke Matsuda, commented on the ongoing collaboration with Tencent back in 2021, stating, "We are in ongoing communications with Tencent, and there are some projects that are underway but I will refrain from commenting on any details at present, including in terms of any output over the next three years."
Source:
Yoshi-P recent blog entry
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Exputer [Exclusive] Final Fantasy XIV Mobile Is in Development
Metacritic: Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
