Final Fantasy 14 is coming to mobile

Square Enix has announced that a mobile version of its popular MMO, Final fantasy 14is under development.

Let me introduce myself a trailer, Final fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida revealed that the mobile version of the game is being developed by Lightspeed Studios. Lightspeed is a Chinese studio, part of the Tencent conglomerate, and the developer of the hugely successful mobile version of PUBG. Final Fantasy 14 mobile will launch in China first, followed by a global release later.

Convert Final fantasy 14 to mobile will not be an easy task. It’s an 11-year-old PC and console game and easily falls within the technical capabilities of most modern smartphones. But like most MMOs, it has a complicated interface and controls that cover a wide range of features and player skills. Square Enix promises “controls optimized for mobile devices.”

It’s understood that Lightspeed is producing a somewhat streamlined version of the game, which will run on a separate track, rather than a mobile client for the current version. Final fantasy 14. The official website notices that FF14 Mobile will start with just nine character lanes (the current game has 10 base classes and 21 lanes). Yoshida expressed hope that “those interested in exploring (the) story” of FF14 will show interest in the mobile version. But FF14 Mobile is otherwise quite fully featured, including side activities such as fishing, Chocobo racing, the Triple Triad card game and customizable housing.

Square Enix has not discussed a business model for the game. On PC and console, Final fantasy 14 is a premium game that also requires a subscription. But a free-to-play conversion seems very likely for the mobile game.

This new mobile version seems like an attempt by Square Enix to find new players Final fantasy 14 – especially in China, where gamers are not afraid to play even the most complicated online games on their phones. HoYoverse has achieved enormous success there with games like Genshin impact, Honkai StarrailAnd Zenless Zone ZeroAnd Final fantasy 14The quite aesthetic and fairly relaxed social gameplay seems to suit this market well. The initial release in China and the choice of a local, specialized developer to carry out the conversion are also signs of Square Enix’s intention.

Hopefully, FF14 Mobile will outperform the mobile version of Square Enix’s previous MMO, Final fantasy 11that was being developed for years in collaboration with the South Korean Nexon canceled in 2020.