Could being "single player friendly" result in subscription split for online/offline?

[Deveryn]

That seems unlikely, especially with the free trial in place. There's ample time to try and wait and see and potentially warm up to the idea of playing with others.

These updates aren't being done solely to appeal to a few single player folks, but also make the game easier for anyone to enter and get comfortable with.

PS Plus for multiplay is there because someone has to pay for those servers. XIV is only playable online. There's no way to really have a full single player experience because you're definitely going to run into people and interact with them in someway, including by way of the marketboard.

[Iscah]

That seems unlikely, especially with the free trial in place. There's ample time to try and wait and see and potentially warm up to the idea of playing with others.

My thinking is that if such a thing happened, it would be the inverse of the free trial restrictions: access to the full MSQ but none of the side content that requires other players. Long and narrow instead of short and wide – and unlike the free trial, they'd have to pay to own the game before they can move into the later chapters.

And even then, there would be plenty of carrots to lure them out into the full subscribed game, given that side content plots often directly support the MSQ.