Please integrate FFXIV further with the Steam client for Steam owners

[Johners]

As a happy owner of FFXIV on Steam, I'm slightly annoyed by the lack of proper Steam client and account integration that this release of the game has.

Installing the game through Steam should distribute the entire game through Steam, not just the launcher that I then have to open in order to download the actual game client. More importantly, there shouldn't be a need for an additional launcher and pressing play should take me straight into the game much like it does for other online games such as Destiny 2.

I don't mind having the Square Enix account for tracking my progress and being able to make that cross-platform for the macOS and PlayStation versions of FFXIV also but beyond that, Steam should be my point of interaction. Adding, changing or cancelling a subscription should be possible directly via Steam rather than going onto Mogstation and billing through Steam.

Likewise, purchasing optional items from the cash store should also be a possibility directly via Steam. As a customer, I'd much rather billing through Steam (or PlayStation for that matter) than doing subscription/cash shop through a separate store. It's one less company that's storing/processing my billing information directly so it's a lesser security hassle.

As a happy Steam customer, one that's also looking at buying a Steam Deck, I'd love for the Steam release of FFXIV to actually be a proper Steam release and not a standalone game poorly thrown onto the platform as it currently is. Many big publishers are already releasing like this on Steam, FFXIV should be another such release.

(I'm not about to get pedantic about account security as nothing is truly hack proof but PlayStation/Steam has a really robust system and I've personally never had any issues keeping an account safe that way. I'm also aware that platforms can targeted directly via malicious attacks but I'd trust a major platform holder more than an individual publisher, especially one such as SE with a janky store front as it is).

[Shibi]

...As a happy Steam customer, one that's also looking at buying a Steam Deck...

It's a pity the Steam Deck won't run FFXIV any more. It would have made an awesome portable platform for it.

[TaleraRistain]

This is a rather tone deaf thread given what's going on right now. Though not entirely surprisingly considering you've been going into the threads about the Steam issue and being rude in them.

[Johners]

This is a rather tone deaf thread given what's going on right now. Though not entirely surprisingly considering you've been going into the threads about the Steam issue and being rude in them.

I don’t see how this is tone deaf, I purchased a Steam game and would like an experience on par with the other Steam games that I also have. I like the platform and would prefer games learned into as much of the feature set as possible that other games such as Destiny 2, for example, do. It’s not rude for people to ask for things that are counter to what you want because you purchased a Steam copy X years ago and regret the decision now. You already have an exit route, make a new account standalone from Steam. It’s a tough choice because you lose all that progress made under the Steam account/license but you still have that choice.

[Johners]

It's a pity the Steam Deck won't run FFXIV any more. It would have made an awesome portable platform for it.

It’s a real shame because the Steam Deck, and SteamOS 3.0 in general which will be made available for other devices, is really cool and the existing launcher situation isn’t a great handheld UX.

Even on PlayStation the UX is bad because you have the launcher which requires an OTP every time you want to play. Could be better in not having that launcher on PlayStation also and taking users straight to the game after pressing play.

[Asllana86]

It’s a tough choice because you lose all that progress made under the Steam account/license but you still have that choice.

For some, thousands of hours of progress is not a choice. That's a crazy statement to make.

[TaleraRistain]

I don’t see how this is tone deaf, I purchased a Steam game and would like an experience on par with the other Steam games that I also have. I like the platform and would prefer games learned into as much of the feature set as possible that other games such as Destiny 2, for example, do. It’s not rude for people to ask for things that are counter to what you want because you purchased a Steam copy X years ago and regret the decision now. You already have an exit route, make a new account standalone from Steam. It’s a tough choice because you lose all that progress made under the Steam account/license but you still have that choice.

It's tone deaf because you know the other threads are out there (because you can't stay out of them) and Steam players are having issues just getting logged in because of recent changes and you post this *right now*.

[MintnHoney]

This is a rather tone deaf thread given what's going on right now. Though not entirely surprisingly considering you've been going into the threads about the Steam issue and being rude in them.

It's not being tone deaf, they're being a troll. It's just that they're not good at it, nor are they at all entertaining about it.

[Johners]

It's not being tone deaf, they're being a troll. It's just that they're not good at it, nor are they at all entertaining about it.

How is it trolling? I purchased this game on Steam for a reason, wanting as much of the payment/billing to go through Steam and not some janky SE store front. I'm perfectly happy launching games through Steam directly to do that. I manage and maintain my accounts so losing access to my original Steam or SE account isn't going to be an issue. I won't be getting myself banned either. Asking for additional Steam integration and features for my Steam isn't a problem either as other developers/publishers have done it with amazing results.

[Jeeqbit]

I think the problem is that the credentials used are not actually your steam credential's, but your SE credentials, so they would have to first unify the two things (which might be what they have been doing with these changes, I haven't been paying attention) and then make those steam credentials able to be passed directly to the game instead of the launcher. I don't even know if the game is capable of doing the login process like the launcher is, so that feature might need implementing so that it can handle the steam credentials directly.

One of the benefits of the launcher is to inform you of recent news, maintenance and patch changes. The launcher is how they keep you informed about steam errors and DDoS attacks to give some examples from today.