The last time we heard about this port was roughly three years ago
Three years ago, Xbox boss Phil Spencer gave us hope that Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox was a distinct possibility. But it’s still in limbo. I even reached out to Microsoft and Square Enix in 2020 to see if any movement had been made, and was given a “no comment” response from both parties.
Yet, Japanese site Game Watch spoke to Spencer at TGS 2022, who gave a brief comment on the situation. The short of it? There’s still no major progress on Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox, but talks aren’t completely dead yet. Here’s what he had to say:
“We certainly announced that (laughs). Naturally, we haven’t given up yet. This is a commitment from both Microsoft and Square Enix to gamers and we will continue to coordinate our efforts.”
It’s not much to go on, to be sure! But at the same time, it’s comforting that Spencer, in 2022, isn’t willing to throw in the towel yet. Back in 2020, Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida noted that it would take a lot of resources to make that happen, so perhaps the wheels are still being greased: “we have to think about long-term planning with additional platforms, we need additional testing for that particular platform. So it kind of exponentially grows the amount of resources that needs to be allocated.”
There’s also the consideration of Microsoft and Sony working in tandem, given that they need to cooperate for the game to function cross-platform. Currently, Final Fantasy XIV is available on PC, PS4, and PS5. With the move to the Xbox platform, with full cross-play and cross-progression intact (this is something Square Enix has been hardline on), it would be an even more formidable MMO force to be reckoned with, with a bigger audience.
