FFXIV population decline continues

[kiotsukete]

To have almost reached EW's viral statistic with Dawntrail's release is a good thing. This has been achieved... without Asmongold and everyone else playing, so consider that.

But according to the Lucky Bancho numbers referenced in the article, while EW gained more players between its launch and 6.1 (1.3 million to 1.7 million), DT lost players between its launch and 7.1 (1.4 million to 1.1 million). In fact, DT is the first expansion since SB to lose players between its launch and x.1 patch.

SB 663k -> 830k
ShB 943k -> 1.2m
EW 1.3m -> 1.7m
DT 1.4m -> 1.1m

7.1 was released in November before Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I don’t think you can write off the player decrease to the holidays.

The question now is how will SE react to so many players leaving FF14? What happens to Yoshi-P’s vaunted plans to keep the game going for another 10 years? Ironically, I think if this leads them to double down on remolding FF14 into a completely soloable game like they’ve been doing, and as they did with FF11, it will just hasten the end since I for one signed up to play an MMO with other players not a single player game with Trust bots.

[ReynTime]

The XIV community keeps throwing "midcore" around when they can't even agree on what it means.
It's not even a real definition.

[Lilapop]

The XIV community keeps throwing "midcore" around when they can't even agree on what it means.
It's not even a real definition.

I was trying to find your contribution to clearing this up. I refreshed the page a few times, cleaned my eyes, still can't find anything of substance. So... what is "midcore"? What would you define it as? Does any content in the game currently fall under "midcore"?

[NamiRocket]

I was trying to find your contribution to clearing this up. I refreshed the page a few times, cleaned my eyes, still can't find anything of substance. So... what is "midcore"? What would you define it as? Does any content in the game currently fall under "midcore"?

Having a better understanding of the words you're reading helps. But keep refreshing and rubbing your eyes, I'm sure you'll get there.

[Lilapop]

Having a better understanding of the words you're reading helps. But keep refreshing and rubbing your eyes, I'm sure you'll get there.

Typically when someone disagrees with a provided description, they provide their own and why they think so. Y'know, basic constructive conversation. But seeing as how you consider "Lol. Lmao even." a constructive contribution, I'm not surprised you react this way.

[NamiRocket]

Typically when someone disagrees with a provided description, they provide their own and why they think so. Y'know, basic constructive conversation. But seeing as how you consider "Lol. Lmao even." a constructive contribution, I'm not surprised you react this way.

I'm sorry, but when someone hops in here and effectively says, "Don't mess with us casual players, Jack, because we built this game from the ground up and, if you piss us off, we can just as easily destroy it," apropos of nothing and you unironically follow up with, "Well, actually, she has some good points," how would you prefer I react to that?

[Clockworks]

The denial some of you people are in regarding this game really is concerning.

Stop blaming COVID and lockdowns, it's 2025.

[Jeeqbit]

SB 663k -> 830k
ShB 943k -> 1.2m
EW 1.3m -> 1.7m
DT 1.4m -> 1.1m

The problem with the 1.7m stat is that it was a spike that didn't hold since it was riding off the back of the game going viral. It fell down to more like 1.4m ish after that.

I agree that the long-term concurrent population of the game has grown by about 200k every expansion (more in EW), but in order to properly see that with Dawntrail we really need a longer term view, not this short term view. For example, what will it look like at 7.2? Etc.

The denial some of you people are in regarding this game really is concerning.

Stop blaming COVID and lockdowns, it's 2025.

If we're comparing stats to the past - literally a time when Covid was more relevant, then yes it's relevant, and it's being in denial of this fact to not consider it.

[BigCheez]

The problem with the 1.7m stat is that it was a spike that didn't hold since it was riding off the back of the game going viral. It fell down to more like 1.4m ish after that.

I agree that the long-term concurrent population of the game has grown by about 200k every expansion (more in EW), but in order to properly see that with Dawntrail we really need a longer term view, not this short term view. For example, what will it look like at 7.2? Etc.

If we're comparing stats to the past - literally a time when Covid was more relevant, then yes it's relevant, and it's being in denial of this fact to not consider it.

The spike didn't hold because the game didn't hold people's interest. The game "went viral" in 2021. It seems silly to try to attribute changes in player behaviour in late 2024 to that.

This was 6.0 to 6.1:



Obviously player numbers fell off after the expansion released but people came back for 6.1 and stuck around for a solid month afterwards.

This is 7.0 to 7.1:



You can barely even see where 7.1 is on the chart. Hardly anyone came back and a lot of them left after only 2 days.

Trying to suggest that there are fewer people playing games post-COVID just doesn't work when FFXIV achieved its all time peak player count in 2024. WoW is sitting pretty at 7m active players. OSRS just broke its own concurrent player record in November. Counter-Strike 2 has 1.5m concurrent players every day.

Why does FFXIV seem to be the only game in existence that is somehow still experiencing long-term effects of COVID?

[Videatur]

Why does FFXIV seem to be the only game in existence that is somehow still experiencing long-term effects of COVID?

Because when you do not accept reality you try to point the finger at something regardless. Unfortunately FF14 is a sin of so many things to really update, because it lacks QoL which has existed in other MMOs since 2004, but when you only think about updating textures and lighting but the rest of the game is stuck in 2013 in the long run people simply get fed up.