FF14 player count reached the lowest point in 4 years. We lost 75% of the playerbase.

[Supersnow845]

It's just not a "random" sample, and it doesn't provide numbers for active subscriptions, only concurrent active players across a 24-hour period, then averaged over a month.

What is a better indicator of player numbers with subscriptions is the Operating Expense [ie Profit] lines of Square Enix's quarterly reports, assuming that DQ10 and FF11 are constants.

An example, they've changed their format from FY 2024, which did not break down operating income beyond Digital Entertainment as a whole:

MMO: Operating income up on launch of latest “FINAL FANTASY XIV” expansion pack
Net Sales: ¥44.0 billion
(Prior FY: ¥34.8 billion/ up ¥9.2 billion YoY)
Operating Income: ¥17.3 billion
(Prior FY: ¥14.4 billion/ up ¥2.9 billion YoY)


I imagine quite a bit of that 9 billion yen increase in net sales for FY2025 Q1-Q3 can be attributed to Dawntrail Expansion sales.

DT sold well initially nobody denies that

DT selling well is meaningless next to the fact that the playerbase cratered after we discovered DT is not good

Using operating income is one of the worst measures to discuss population

[DPZ2]

Using operating income is one of the worst measures to discuss population

You're actually asserting that profits for a subscription-based game are one of the worst measures to determine whether the base of paying subscribers cratered?

[Saraide]

Wait actually steam gamers are very different, they have access to other games. Think about it: the PS5 has no games, xbox is a dead platform, standalone launcher. /s

[Oizen]

Dawntrail sold well because Endwalker sold it
I'd bet money 8.0 does not sell as well as Dawntrail did.

[celi85]

hop on lost ark

[Dorito_Burrito]

hop on lost ark

Hop on Spider Solitaire.

[Red-thunder]

hop on lost ark

Lost Ark gameplay BTFO's this game but the P2W shit is just insane and having to do dailies and weeklies on six chars just to be able to hit min ilvl for w1 raids just means you have to treat it like a second job.

At least it's actually fun while it lasted. Whereas FF14 is not even fun even if you unsub and come back after four months every patch.

[celi85]

let's face it the combat in ffxiv is lacking and replayability is at an all time low.
the only players who keep playing are modders who turn their characters into abominations and cheatmaxxers who auto mark sim and cactbot their way through all remotely difficult content. pvp is full of cheaters, everyone who crafts and gathers uses glorified bots that are freely available on the you-know-what plugin software. what does it tell you about the game if everyone who plays it has to modify the vanilla experience beyond recognition. vanilla gameplay is nearly unheard of, WoW has more integrity when it comes to third-party tools and that's an incredibly low bar.
dont get me started on the cash shop, the sheer size of it gives p2w korean mmos a run for their money and those games don't demand a $15 sub fee every month. it's insulting that 80% of the new headwear they add to the game isn't wearable by hrothgar or viera, they can afford to update the cash shop every few weeks but can't afford to make the hat that comes with the $20 costume compatible with those races let alone most of the gear that gets added each patch.

just trust the plan guys, 8.0 will totally definitely fix the game for sure. yoshi p went on stage at fanfest and said the content is too repetitive and makes him sleepy at times, he's a regular guy just like you (if you ignore his $3000 designer shirts and rolex watch that costs more than your car)
he encourages you to take breaks so feel free to take one, just don't take too long of a break or your house will get demolished lol

[Dorito_Burrito]

let's face it the combat in ffxiv is lacking and replayability is at an all time low.
the only players who keep playing are modders who turn their characters into abominations and cheatmaxxers who auto mark sim and cactbot their way through all remotely difficult content. pvp is full of cheaters, everyone who crafts and gathers uses glorified bots that are freely available on the you-know-what plugin software. what does it tell you about the game if everyone who plays it has to modify the vanilla experience beyond recognition. vanilla gameplay is nearly unheard of, WoW has more integrity when it comes to third-party tools and that's an incredibly low bar.
dont get me started on the cash shop, the sheer size of it gives p2w korean mmos a run for their money and those games don't demand a $15 sub fee every month. it's insulting that 80% of the new headwear they add to the game isn't wearable by hrothgar or viera, they can afford to update the cash shop every few weeks but can't afford to make the hat that comes with the $20 costume compatible with those races let alone most of the gear that gets added each patch.

just trust the plan guys, 8.0 will totally definitely fix the game for sure. yoshi p went on stage at fanfest and said the content is too repetitive and makes him sleepy at times, he's a regular guy just like you (if you ignore his $3000 designer shirts and rolex watch that costs more than your car)
he encourages you to take breaks so feel free to take one, just don't take too long of a break or your house will get demolished lol

Wow I think you hit every beat with this one.

[Supersnow845]

You aren’t looking at their subscription income exclusively though

You are looking at a year when an expansion came out that everyone everyone agrees sold well and then trying to use the increased sales from an expansion launch year over a non expansion launch year to argue that indicates that sub numbers are higher