Why is the FFXIV community torn over new Xbox launch? Controversy explained Square EnixFFXIV players across the board have voiced their concerns about the requirements imposed on Xbox players, including a Game Pass subscription, and a separate digital currency. But why is it all so controversial? We take a closer look at what\u2019s making the player base uneasy. Final Fantasy XIV is expanding its crossplay capabilities to include Xbox players from March 21. While the award-winning MMO finally landing on the Microsoft console is cause for celebration, there are some aspects of the launch which has the player base feeling torn. Alongside the Xbox launch are two additional requirements, players need to have an active Game Pass subscription, and they\u2019ll need to use a new Xbox only digital currency \u2014 FFXIV coins. This has led to a great deal of controversy. Let\u2019s break it all down. How is playing FFXIV on Xbox different from PC or PlayStation? According to the official announcement \u201cXbox Game Pass (Core or Ultimate) is required to play.\u201d This means Xbox players will need to pay a Game Pass sub, as well as their monthly FFXIV subscription. This contrasts with PC and PS versions of the game. For example, a PS Plus membership isn\u2019t a requirement for those playing FFXIV on PlayStation consoles. Likewise, those who\u2019ve chosen to use the Steam platform to purchase their copy of FFXIV aren\u2019t required to purchase any additional subscription from Valve. In addition to the Game Pass requirement, Xbox players will also be required to use a new in-game currency \u2014 FFXIV Coins. Square Enix\u2019s official announcement states payments for players on the Xbox Series X|S \u201cwill be handled using FFXIV Coins only.\u201d Meanwhile, players on PC or PlayStation are free to make purchases using the web-based storefront and their credit card, without the need for purchasing an additional digital currency. How will FFXIV Coins work? Square Enix have been releasing more information for Xbox players, now the game has officially launched for the platform. According to the terms and conditions for the virtual currency, coins purchased will be locked by region. \u201cIt is important you check your FFXIV account\u2019s region. If you change the region of your Microsoft account, you may not be able to access your FFXIV Coins.\u201d They state. But, players with Xbox and FFXIV accounts in differing regions have already been stung by the region locking. What makes the FFXIV Xbox requirements so controversial? While these two changes don\u2019t affect the actual gameplay in any way, they are conditions that only exist for Xbox players. And that\u2019s what\u2019s got the community so frustrated. The community at large feels forcing Xbox players to purchase a Game Pass sub and a virtual currency is an unfair burden. There are a number of reasons for this. Most notably, Xbox players won\u2019t be using any Microsoft servers to play FFXIV. They\u2019ll be playing on servers owned by Square Enix, like the rest of the player base. The new Xbox-only currency, FFXIV Coins, also seems like a strange move to the community. While players who purchased their game through Steam have always had the option to pay for purchases at checkout with money in their Steam Wallet, they still used the same Mogstation storefront as standalone PC players and PlayStation players. However, Xbox players will be forced to make all of their transactions via FFXIV Coins. For many fans, this appears to be a needless extra step to purchase cosmetic items or game time. Another gripe from the community is the increments which coins are sold in. However, depending on a player\u2019s region, it could end up being a little cheaper than paying through the Square Enix storefront. Are these requirements unique to FFXIV on Xbox? The complaints haven\u2019t just come from Xbox players either, in fact, many of the loudest critics on social media have been PC and PlayStation players \u2014 neither of whom are directly affected by the requirements at all. This camaraderie across platforms isn\u2019t unusual for FFXIV, which has a reputation for having a friendly and considerate player base. But it\u2019s prompted thanks from the Xbox branch of the community. But can criticism of the policy really do anything to change it? Although the requirements might seem like a shock to players from other platforms, they\u2019re part and parcel of the Microsoft ecosystem. And they\u2019re certainly not unique to FFXIV. In fact, almost twenty years ago, when Final Fantasy XI made its debut on the Xbox 360, players needed a Silver or Gold Xbox Live subscription active to play. Previously, an active Gold Xbox Live sub was a requirement to play multiplayer games like Borderlands and Elder Scrolls Online too. And seeing as Xbox Live Gold was rebranded into Game Pass Core in September 2023, it\u2019s not surprising that Microsoft\u2019s attitude toward multiplayer games remains the same. This means it\u2019s unlikely community sentiment will sway the policy anytime soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why is the FFXIV community torn over new Xbox launch? Controversy explained Square EnixFFXIV players across the board have voiced their concerns about the requirements imposed on Xbox players, including a Game Pass subscription, and a separate digital currency. But why is it all so controversial? We take a closer look at what\u2019s making the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}