Why not create a new FFXI-2 MMO

[Elexia]

Not everyone enjoy XIV's story or community as well. I played there for nearly 2 years and my current group of friends in XI would not be subbing in any MMO at all if it isn't XI. So I think the assumption that XI is done and XIV is the next logical evolution is incorrect.

Read SE press and investor reports some time, it's not our assumption, it's SE's ideology being said as plain as day. XI is indeed "done" for as far as SE is concerned as long as XIV is their star MMO. If you noticed, when XIV was spiraling faster than expected, they backtracked pretty quickly on their stance on XI. They wouldn't outright kill any source of revenue, but in order to really give XI what it needs, it needs full support including a sizable team. Since even XIV's team atm is "small" according to the director, but it also gets far more funding.

Hell I think Scarlet SaGa got more funding than XI did.

Someone complained about XI trust system turning it into a solo game, but i don't feel like it was any more of a solo game than XIV was when I was there.

As always, I think this is more because with trusts, while nowhere near as competent as human players (usually), they replace the need for many, many standard content and leveling to seek out other players. Until Trusts work on the level of a player in the highest tier of content, trusts can never turn this into a "solo game" but it CAN give that illusion simply because you only need you and 5 other trusts for most of current XI.

I can only hope they are using that time to prep a major content patch, or it could all just be busy work as they have nothing else really planned.

All they need is a small team to port XI over to a new engine (even UE4 would suffice if they won't give them the branch of luminous XIV uses) as it's a windows only game now, but then they'd have to strip out Playonline functionality which XI is so deeply integrated with it's more work and money than they clearly want to invest in a 15 year old game.

Now if Stormsblood for XIV doesn't go over too well..I guarantee XI will get put into a new light.

[Jakuk]

Now if Stormsblood for XIV doesn't go over too well..I guarantee XI will get put into a new light.

It really wouldn't, they'd sooner move onto a new MMO separate from both XI and XIV.

[Elexia]

It really wouldn't, they'd sooner move onto a new MMO separate from both XI and XIV.

Considering the MMOs they have to offer and their history, they would sooner revisit XI than go to a new product. It would cost significantly less to modernize and push XI than it would a new MMO currently even if said "modernization" is an essential soft relaunch. It is by no means cheap, but a ballpark figure based on the company I work it would virtually be choosing between 20m and 50m and that's not considering if SE would float the bill out of their own pocket or opt to build a new engine for a new MMO. Remember, XIV itself was only born out of the logic that it would have been wiser to make a new MMO at the time (2005) than revamp XI since there was nothing inherently wrong with XI in order to reboot it beyond graphically. It would have been double the revenue if you had players subbing to both or with XIV being easier to get into, you'd make more profit. XI is currently a windows only title now, the biggest hurdle is rewriting it to DX9/11 or DX12 first and foremost. (That isn't a hard thing to do but it still requires SE to invest in it.)

Making a new MMO of a new IP would be significantly more risky, that's why XI was a numbered entry to begin with and why XIV 2.0+ still has the "Final Fantasy" title even though the only thing that makes it FF are fanservice nods.

Remember - they tried doing a brand new MMO separate from XI and FMO, it didn't work out because it had nothing to stand on. That MMO was called Fantasy Earth. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't "Final Fantasy", which is why "Final Fantasy XVI" would sooner be an MMO before one based on any other IP or brand new IP as DQ already has DQX. Reason I say they'd revisit XI is because it was said a few times if they had the team and funding there's a lot more they can do with it. Hell the new UI they were working on for XI is in limbo because of that reason.

Once XIV became their baby every other project has been kind of put on the backbunner. Including DQX.