Request: Please Consider Native Vulkan Support for FFXIV’s Future

Hello everyone,

I'd like to raise a topic that's becoming increasingly important as PC hardware and graphics APIs continue to evolve: the long-term value of adding native Vulkan support to FFXIV's engine.

Recently, I contacted AMD regarding severe performance inconsistencies on newer Radeon hardware (in my case, an RX 9070 XT). Their reply highlighted a broader issue with FFXIV's current rendering backend. Here is the relevant portion of their response:

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“Older games can sometimes have compatibility issues with newer hardware due to several factors such as APIs, operating systems, and compatible drivers.

If this is the only game you're facing performance issues with, we recommend reaching out to the game's developers, as this is more related to game optimization.

Since Final Fantasy 14 still uses DX11 and certain Nvidia technologies, the developers may need to make adjustments to improve compatibility with modern hardware.”

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This lines up with what many players across AMD, Intel Arc, and even some Nvidia systems have been reporting: DX11 is becoming a bottleneck, and vendor-specific frameworks are aging out of active support.

Why Vulkan Makes Sense for FFXIV's Long-Term Health

1. Vulkan supports both new and old GPUs
Vulkan is one of the few modern APIs that:

• Runs on modern GPUs from all vendors
• Still supports older GPUs that receive driver updates
• Performs well on integrated graphics
• Works across mobile, console-adjacent, and desktop architectures

This means modernizing the engine doesn't leave older hardware behind. In many cases, older cards actually run Vulkan more efficiently than DX11 due to reduced driver overhead.

2. DX11 is being phased out industry-wide
DX11 is now a legacy API. Hardware vendors are:

• Reducing optimization work for DX11
• Prioritizing low-level APIs (Vulkan, DX12, Metal)
• Shifting engineering resources away from older driver paths

Even if FFXIV's engine remains unchanged, performance and stability will naturally degrade over time simply because the industry is moving on.

3. Nvidia's shift toward AI makes reliance on Nvidia-specific frameworks risky
This isn't a criticism, it's just the reality of Nvidia's business direction. Their engineering focus is increasingly centered on:

• AI acceleration
• Data center hardware
• CUDA and compute workloads
  Gaming is still supported, but it is no longer the primary driver of their R&D. As a result:
• Legacy gaming frameworks receive fewer updates
• DX11-specific optimizations are no longer a priority
• Vendor-specific extensions become harder to rely on long-term

If FFXIV continues depending on Nvidia-centric technologies, the game becomes vulnerable to changes outside Square Enix's control.

4. Other major long-running games are already transitioning, including Star Citizen
A relevant industry example: Star Citizen has begun fully rolling out Vulkan and is actively phasing out DirectX support. Regardless of anyone's opinion of that game, the technical direction is clear:

• Vulkan offers better long-term maintainability
• It reduces reliance on aging APIs
• It ensures consistent performance across vendors
• It aligns with where GPU manufacturers are investing their engineering resources

This shows that even extremely complex, long-lived engines are recognizing that DX11's lifespan is ending, and the transition to modern APIs is no longer optional, it's inevitable.

5. Vulkan provides a stable, vendor-neutral foundation
Vulkan is maintained by the Khronos Group, not a single GPU vendor. This means:

• No reliance on proprietary tech
• Equal support across AMD, Nvidia, Intel, and future vendors
• Predictable long-term maintenance
• A unified rendering backend across platforms

This is especially valuable for a game expected to last another decade or more.

6. Better CPU utilization for large-scale content
FFXIV's biggest performance drops happen in:

• Alliance raids
• Hunt trains
• Large FATEs
• World bosses
• Dense city hubs
• Island Sanctuary automation scenes

Vulkan's multithreaded command submission directly addresses the CPU bottlenecks that DX11 cannot solve.

7. Future-proofing the engine
If FFXIV is expected to continue growing, and the developers have repeatedly said they intend to support it long-term, then investing in a modern rendering backend is not just beneficial, it's strategic.
The alternative is waiting until the industry forces the change, at which point the transition becomes harder, more expensive, and more disruptive.

A Vulkan backend wouldn't require a graphical overhaul. It would simply modernize the foundation so the game can:

• Run more efficiently
• Scale with future hardware
• Avoid compatibility issues like the ones AMD highlighted
• Reduce reliance on aging vendor-specific tech
• Maintain consistent performance across all GPU vendors

This is about ensuring FFXIV remains healthy and performant for the next 5-10 years.

I'm sharing this not as a complaint, but as a genuine request for the developers to consider Vulkan as a long-term investment. DX11 is being phased out, Nvidia's focus is shifting, and other major titles are already transitioning to modern APIs. Vulkan offers a stable, cross-platform, future-proof solution that benefits every player regardless of hardware.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this can spark a constructive discussion about the engine's long-term direction.

You have to ask yourself:

https://i.imgur.com/43lJV0V.png

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working. But, it does work and it's great; you even see more details than on Windows. It's just going to get better on Linux, along with other games.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working great. But, it does work and it works really well. It's just going to get better on Linux as well related to other games and not just this one.

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This is a good point. My computer could probably run Win11 if I fiddled a bit with it, but I will never do such a thing to it...I just haven't gone through the pain of switching OS's yet. Better Linux support would be fantastic.

I'm currently on Linux Mint, and it's been working great. You can even run the launcher via Lutris. Works great and I personally think it looks better than on Malware 11. I was fine running on Windows - until they decided to inject AI and their Recall program. 25H2 was the last straw for me.

Full support.

FFXIV already runs extremely well on SteamOS. The only "issue" is that shows up is because the SteamDeck's screen is so tiny, it requires players to do some UI fiddling. It will work out of the box for the new Steam machines. So at the very least, we're partway there with Linux framework support.

I'm not sure on the specifics of vulkan but why does your post read like chatGPT wrote it

Linux or FreeBSD and the Vulkan way may be the future if gaming, knowing in which MS and other big companies is going.

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Originally Posted by Reimmi

I'm not sure on the specifics of vulkan but why does your post read like chatGPT wrote it

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Probably because OP's name and snapshot both checks out, lol

For AMD specifically jumping over to Linux can be a performance boost through a combination of DXVK (so the game already runs on Vulkan) and the AMD drivers on Linux being historically more stable than Windows ones. XIV has a gold rating on ProtonDB, works great through Lutris or Bottles.

ngl you had my full support. Spock is a cool dude and his native planet requires support.

then i realised thats a different fandom and spelling and that i have no knowledge or expertise n this, nonetheless i wish you good luck on the sale :)

I gotta admit I came in here expecting a joke post about translating the game into the Star Trek language, but I'm all for SE supporting more platforms if they can.

Ditch PS4 support and add Vulkan. Let this be the next generation of gaming.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working. But, it does work and it's great; you even see more details than on Windows. It's just going to get better on Linux, along with other games.

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You know you are completely right, I actually play on linux on my laptop but I use the XIV Launcher the the DXVK api, I can't believe it completely slipped my mind!

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Originally Posted by Reimmi

I'm not sure on the specifics of vulkan but why does your post read like chatGPT wrote it

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With my Brain Injury and AuDHD I do use AI to help me clean up what I write, I am not ashamed to admit that, in the past when I try to explain things to people I fail so horribly that it I usually end up being ridiculed and downvoted to the max. But it's not ChatGPT no, I do not use that one, nor Grok, or Gemini or Meta etc.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

Probably because OP's name and snapshot both checks out, lol

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Haha yes s32ialx is "1337 4@X0R" for Serial Killer like from the 80's movie Hackers "Cereal Killer played by Matthew Lillard" but like with my own lil spin on it as a serial port killer not a mass murderer or the breakfast food killer. xDDDD

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

Haha yes s32ialx is "1337 4@X0R" for Serial Killer like from the 80's movie Hackers "Cereal Killer played by Matthew Lillard" but like with my own lil spin on it as a serial port killer not a mass murderer or the breakfast food killer. xDDDD

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Ah good times! Hackers was a great one.

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.



Cheers

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Originally Posted by Reimmi

I'm not sure on the specifics of vulkan but why does your post read like chatGPT wrote it

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Because it did

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Originally Posted by Reimmi

I'm not sure on the specifics of vulkan but why does your post read like chatGPT wrote it

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

Probably because OP's name and snapshot both checks out, lol

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Originally Posted by SpookyKobold

Because it did

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Correction as I said ChatGPT did not, but an LLM did assist me in wording things to be more understable and cleaner.

https://media1.tenor.com/m/pVMKiGiLN...ping-bravo.gif

When they keep talking about major improvements to the game, this is the kind of thing I want. If they're serious about keeping XIV as a prime service for another 9 years, this is the kind of thing they should have started with.

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Originally Posted by Larirawiel

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.

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Hard or not to implement a new API that's what is called investing in your game to keep your company alive. If you are not willing to invest in making it better than you deserve to fail. Think about even 5 years from now, when people have cards that literally can't play XIV cause it just does not work with their cards at all.

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Originally Posted by DiaDeem

https://media1.tenor.com/m/pVMKiGiLN...ping-bravo.gif

When they keep talking about major improvements to the game, this is the kind of thing I want. If they're serious about keeping XIV as a prime service for another 9 years, this is the kind of thing they should have started with.

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Yes exactly, sure it may be "hard" to do but if you don't do it, the game just wont' work for people who upgrade and then they will just find another game cause no ones going to downgrade just for a game.

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Originally Posted by Larirawiel

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.



Cheers

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• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.
• The game already has more than one rendering pipeline since it runs on PS which does not run DirectX.
• Whether SE embraces Vulkan or goes for DX12, they can't just sit on DX11 forever. They do already have in-house expertise with DX12 at least (FFXVI).
• SE has done pretty big reworks in recent memory, like the graphical overhaul or PvP rework with CC. There just needs to be the will to do it.
• WoW was older than FFXIV is today when it added DX12.

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Originally Posted by Terhix

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.
• The game already has more than one rendering pipeline since it runs on PS which does not run DirectX.
• Whether SE embraces Vulkan or goes for DX12, they can't just sit on DX11 forever. They do already have in-house expertise with DX12 at least (FFXVI).
• SE has done pretty big reworks in recent memory, like the graphical overhaul or PvP rework with CC. There just needs to be the will to do it.
• WoW was older than FFXIV is today when it added DX12.

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Not to mention the work it takes to go DX12 is practically the same amount of work involved to go vulkan and DX 12 actually borrows from vulkan.

The thing is, while SE does have DX12 experience from FFXVI, that doesn't actually make DX12 a fundamentally easier path for FFXIV. Once you leave DX11, you're already committing to a full low-level rewrite, explicit memory management, threading, command queues, and that's true whether you go Vulkan or DX12. The conceptual shift away from DX11's driver-managed model is the hard part. Translating the engine to DX12 involves almost the same kind of work as translating to Vulkan. The difference is mostly in API syntax and tooling, not in workload.

SE's DX12 experience helps with familiarity, sure, but it doesn't reduce the core effort needed to modernize FFXIV's renderer. Once you're doing the rewrite, Vulkan's not meaningfully harder, and in some cases, it's more portable and future-proof.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

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Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

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Originally Posted by miraidensetsu

Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

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It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

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Originally Posted by miraidensetsu

Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

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You are misinterpreting what I am saying. It's not about people moving off Windows to Linux, or ending support of DX in Windows. That's not it at all, it's about opening support to more than JUST Windows. As it's been for a long time wtih any other kind of application. Hell, even Microsoft themselves have added support/compatibility for Linux, adding SQL for Linux and .NET, and this is frankly no different.

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

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If they're just gonna wrap it in Wine as they've done with Mac, I'd rather them not do it at all. The game runs on steam deck already, steam machine should be no different. If you run the game through Steam you can just play on Linux out of the box. Otherwise just install Bottles and run the Windows installer in that without ever touching the terminal. Native Vulkan would be nice though since that would make the shader recompilation obsolete.

I only ever had a few issues with XIV on Linux, all launcher related and easily fixable. Lately they switched to WebView2 which you could opt-out of (Proton didn't support it yet, it does now), and then they added user agent screening which you could circumvent via settings. They fixed the last one the next day quoting steam deck as the target for the fix, so at this point I think it's safe to say SE is at least aware of their Linux / SteamOS user base. As long as they won't do anything to actively break the Linux support they just don't have to do anything.

I use Arch btw

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

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As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

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Originally Posted by RedLolly

As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

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right I guess that's just 'good enough than' but a native client could run better is all I was saying.

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

right I guess that's just 'good enough than' but a native client could run better is all I was saying.

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Yeah and there are a lot of us that don't use Steam to play this game, or others.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

Yeah and there are a lot of us that don't use Steam to play this game, or others.

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Yep I do not own the steam version and I do not plan to buy it and the expansions on it, so a native client would be a huge win for me

More people need to see this

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

Yep I do not own the steam version and I do not plan to buy it and the expansions on it, so a native client would be a huge win for me

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Oh. I didn't mean that you should all switch to Steam or SteamOS, only that it's probably already part-way there

But then Yoshi-P responded to the request for a Switch 2 port with "Please look forward to it." That's likely priority one if the devs are working on more systems to support.

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

Yep I do not own the steam version and I do not plan to buy it and the expansions on it, so a native client would be a huge win for me

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Originally Posted by RedLolly

As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

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I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?

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Originally Posted by Terhix

If they're just gonna wrap it in Wine as they've done with Mac, I'd rather them not do it at all. The game runs on steam deck already, steam machine should be no different. If you run the game through Steam you can just play on Linux out of the box. Otherwise just install Bottles and run the Windows installer in that without ever touching the terminal. Native Vulkan would be nice though since that would make the shader recompilation obsolete.

I only ever had a few issues with XIV on Linux, all launcher related and easily fixable. Lately they switched to WebView2 which you could opt-out of (Proton didn't support it yet, it does now), and then they added user agent screening which you could circumvent via settings. They fixed the last one the next day quoting steam deck as the target for the fix, so at this point I think it's safe to say SE is at least aware of their Linux / SteamOS user base. As long as they won't do anything to actively break the Linux support they just don't have to do anything.

I use Arch btw

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Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )


Anyway, a native Linux launcher would also be cool for noobs and beginners like me who are still considering the switch or are in the process of figuring things out but want to play as soon as possible.

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Originally Posted by Loggos

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?

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it is possible, yes. To do so, in your Steam Application, click on "Add a Game" on the lower left corner, locate your FFXIV launcher. Afterwards, right click the game, open its properties, and under compatibility, select "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool", and "Proton Experimental" in the drop down list.

I do agree that it is a bit more difficult to set up. If you want to make it easier on yourself, I recommend installing "Lutris" - its a launcher for all kinds of non-steam games. Through Lutris, you can directly install the official FFXIV client - no Steam or other secret sauce required. it sets up pretty much everything for you. that way, you don't have to use Steam to launch, and can keep your current service account.

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Originally Posted by Loggos

Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )

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From what we know of SteamOS on the Deck and the Cube this should be an option available to you. If you search around for FFXIV on Linux you'll find guides for it.

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Originally Posted by Loggos

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?




Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )


Anyway, a native Linux launcher would also be cool for noobs and beginners like me who are still considering the switch or are in the process of figuring things out but want to play as soon as possible.

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There is a way to play XIV with a 3rd party launcher on linux without steam. You can also play with steam without owning it on steam, however I do not know if this method STILL works, but you used to beable to install the free trial version of FFXIV and do a lil fukery and then you can login with your main mogstation bought account and use the free trial launcher to play on steam, I used to do that to track my hours like a decade ago.

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

There is a way to play XIV with a 3rd party launcher on linux without steam.

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This here is currently the answer, and NOT Lutris, if you also want to run something else (wink) alongside XIV. It's a flawless setup and Lutris installing it as a flatpak is just ass. The native client runs on Lutris great. 3rd party does not and should be done another way.

I play on Mint (not LMDE) only because LMDE doesn't have all the dependencies needed to play games. I'd prefer Debian based flavors because I'm a Debian fan, but the Fedora and Ubuntu versions seem to be a lot less of a headache for gaming. Arch based are great too, but I just have so much heartache with Wayland (thanks Nvidia, you suck) and I don't know the commands in Arch like I do others. I know Wayland is coming to replace X11, and hopefully my woes will be fixed when it does.

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Originally Posted by Greyhawk

I know Wayland is coming to replace X11, and hopefully my woes will be fixed when it does.

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I use RegataOS Arctic Fox on my Laptop and it's such an easy install to get XIV up and running without steam, but still would be nice for a native client.

Also Wayland has existed since 30 September 2008, which means it has been around for a little over 17 years as of 2026. It's actually already the default display system on most major Linux distributions, with X11 now treated as legacy. As of 2025, Wayland is effectively mainstream across modern desktops and compositors. Things have come so far ; . ;

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Originally Posted by Terhix

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.

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They also lack of developers with rendering pipeline expertise. You can see tons of graphical glitches in many places.


Cheers

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Originally Posted by s32ialx

I use RegataOS Arctic Fox on my Laptop and it's such an easy install to get XIV up and running without steam, but still would be nice for a native client.

Also Wayland has existed since 30 September 2008, which means it has been around for a little over 17 years as of 2026. It's actually already the default display system on most major Linux distributions, with X11 now treated as legacy. As of 2025, Wayland is effectively mainstream across modern desktops and compositors. Things have come so far ; . ;

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Yeah I realize that, but in the distro I run, Wayland is still experimental and has been for quite a while. The Arch-based distros have it, and most others as well for sure. It's nice, but I also run an NVIDIA card, which will be my last now that I've gone completely Linux in my house. They are the cause of my woes with Wayland, and I can never recover my system if God forbid my monitor goes to sleep. AMD will be replacing my hardware the next go-around upgrade for us, as it plays a lot better with Linux, and not near the headaches.