Final Fantasy XIV has risen to extreme highs in popularity over the past year, with many disgruntled World of Warcraft fans beginning their journey into Eorzea as “WoW Refugees.” Server queues became a huge issue during the launch of the Endwalker expansion in December, so much so that Square Enix was forced to stop selling the game briefly and put a hold on the free trial. It has been several months now since this hiatus, and the free trial is now available again, though it is (seemingly) coincidentally returning the same day as World of Warcraft’s Eternity’s End content patch.
It may seem petty, but the two competing games have a history of releasing content on the same day, yet World of Warcraft has almost always been more notorious for doing it. Most recently, Blizzard changed the launch date of its anticipated Legion Mage Tower Timewalking Event to start the same day as the launch of Endwalker. While it can’t be said for certain that this is intentional, the consistency of these content releases begins to show a pattern that is hard to justify to MMO fans. It is only natural for Square Enix to respond in kind. These are two behemoth MMOs, after all.
World of Warcraft has an uphill climb to regain much of its fanbase. To its credit, the testing cycle has been a breath of fresh air. The developers have been way more transparent, responding to community feedback in a timely manner and implementing changes that have shaped the patch into what looks to be an enjoyable experience.
Final Fantasy XIV, on the other hand, has seen nothing but praise for its content as of late. Its free trial is extremely generous, and there will probably be a ton of players looking to check it out now that it has returned. Will it be enough to affect the popularity of Eternity’s End? That remains to be seen.
