■ Regarding the Global Semiconductor Shortage (Supply Chain Issues)
When it comes to adding new Worlds, we need tens of “server machines” for every World that we add. Server machines are high-performance computers, which utilize numerous semiconductors. However, due to the COVID-19 countermeasures currently in place, many factories across the globe which produce semiconductors have halted production, or have faced labor shortages. This has ultimately led to a decrease in the number of semiconductors being produced, and has resulted in a worldwide semiconductor shortage.
Furthermore, this does not only pertain to the production of semiconductors, but from a logistics standpoint as well, COVID-19 countermeasures continue to explosively push up demand and create this turbulent situation. We have made considerable investment—even more so than usual—to secure the required hardware, but even so, a long lead time will be needed to prepare the server hardware.
If we try to look to when this semiconductor shortage may be solved, unfortunately given the state of things, we aren’t able to estimate when we might reach a resolution. The FFXIV Server and Infrastructure teams accelerated work to implement the additional high-performance machines we had secured, as well as optimizing the server source code and increasing the number of maximum logins per World. I promise that we will continue to put in this type of effort.
Given the current situation, we anticipate that it may take several months or more to add new Worlds. I want to express my sincerest apologies to all of our players for the inconvenience this is causing. I appreciate your continued understanding and support regarding this matter.