Request: Please Consider Native Vulkan Support for FFXIV’s Future

[s32ialx]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to raise a topic that's becoming increasingly important as PC hardware and graphics APIs continue to evolve: the long-term value of adding native Vulkan support to FFXIV's engine.

Recently, I contacted AMD regarding severe performance inconsistencies on newer Radeon hardware (in my case, an RX 9070 XT). Their reply highlighted a broader issue with FFXIV's current rendering backend. Here is the relevant portion of their response:

“Older games can sometimes have compatibility issues with newer hardware due to several factors such as APIs, operating systems, and compatible drivers.

If this is the only game you're facing performance issues with, we recommend reaching out to the game's developers, as this is more related to game optimization.

Since Final Fantasy 14 still uses DX11 and certain Nvidia technologies, the developers may need to make adjustments to improve compatibility with modern hardware.”

This lines up with what many players across AMD, Intel Arc, and even some Nvidia systems have been reporting: DX11 is becoming a bottleneck, and vendor-specific frameworks are aging out of active support.

Why Vulkan Makes Sense for FFXIV's Long-Term Health

1. Vulkan supports both new and old GPUs
Vulkan is one of the few modern APIs that:

• Runs on modern GPUs from all vendors
• Still supports older GPUs that receive driver updates
• Performs well on integrated graphics
• Works across mobile, console-adjacent, and desktop architectures

This means modernizing the engine doesn't leave older hardware behind. In many cases, older cards actually run Vulkan more efficiently than DX11 due to reduced driver overhead.

2. DX11 is being phased out industry-wide
DX11 is now a legacy API. Hardware vendors are:

• Reducing optimization work for DX11
• Prioritizing low-level APIs (Vulkan, DX12, Metal)
• Shifting engineering resources away from older driver paths

Even if FFXIV's engine remains unchanged, performance and stability will naturally degrade over time simply because the industry is moving on.

3. Nvidia's shift toward AI makes reliance on Nvidia-specific frameworks risky
This isn't a criticism, it's just the reality of Nvidia's business direction. Their engineering focus is increasingly centered on:

• AI acceleration
• Data center hardware
• CUDA and compute workloads
  Gaming is still supported, but it is no longer the primary driver of their R&D. As a result:
• Legacy gaming frameworks receive fewer updates
• DX11-specific optimizations are no longer a priority
• Vendor-specific extensions become harder to rely on long-term

If FFXIV continues depending on Nvidia-centric technologies, the game becomes vulnerable to changes outside Square Enix's control.

4. Other major long-running games are already transitioning, including Star Citizen
A relevant industry example: Star Citizen has begun fully rolling out Vulkan and is actively phasing out DirectX support. Regardless of anyone's opinion of that game, the technical direction is clear:

• Vulkan offers better long-term maintainability
• It reduces reliance on aging APIs
• It ensures consistent performance across vendors
• It aligns with where GPU manufacturers are investing their engineering resources

This shows that even extremely complex, long-lived engines are recognizing that DX11's lifespan is ending, and the transition to modern APIs is no longer optional, it's inevitable.

5. Vulkan provides a stable, vendor-neutral foundation
Vulkan is maintained by the Khronos Group, not a single GPU vendor. This means:

• No reliance on proprietary tech
• Equal support across AMD, Nvidia, Intel, and future vendors
• Predictable long-term maintenance
• A unified rendering backend across platforms

This is especially valuable for a game expected to last another decade or more.

6. Better CPU utilization for large-scale content
FFXIV's biggest performance drops happen in:

• Alliance raids
• Hunt trains
• Large FATEs
• World bosses
• Dense city hubs
• Island Sanctuary automation scenes

Vulkan's multithreaded command submission directly addresses the CPU bottlenecks that DX11 cannot solve.

7. Future-proofing the engine
If FFXIV is expected to continue growing, and the developers have repeatedly said they intend to support it long-term, then investing in a modern rendering backend is not just beneficial, it's strategic.
The alternative is waiting until the industry forces the change, at which point the transition becomes harder, more expensive, and more disruptive.

A Vulkan backend wouldn't require a graphical overhaul. It would simply modernize the foundation so the game can:

• Run more efficiently
• Scale with future hardware
• Avoid compatibility issues like the ones AMD highlighted
• Reduce reliance on aging vendor-specific tech
• Maintain consistent performance across all GPU vendors

This is about ensuring FFXIV remains healthy and performant for the next 5-10 years.

I'm sharing this not as a complaint, but as a genuine request for the developers to consider Vulkan as a long-term investment. DX11 is being phased out, Nvidia's focus is shifting, and other major titles are already transitioning to modern APIs. Vulkan offers a stable, cross-platform, future-proof solution that benefits every player regardless of hardware.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this can spark a constructive discussion about the engine's long-term direction.

You have to ask yourself:

[Greyhawk]

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working. But, it does work and it's great; you even see more details than on Windows. It's just going to get better on Linux, along with other games.

[Astronis]

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working great. But, it does work and it works really well. It's just going to get better on Linux as well related to other games and not just this one.

This is a good point. My computer could probably run Win11 if I fiddled a bit with it, but I will never do such a thing to it...I just haven't gone through the pain of switching OS's yet. Better Linux support would be fantastic.

[Terhix]

For AMD specifically jumping over to Linux can be a performance boost through a combination of DXVK (so the game already runs on Vulkan) and the AMD drivers on Linux being historically more stable than Windows ones. XIV has a gold rating on ProtonDB, works great through Lutris or Bottles.

[s32ialx]

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

This game actually runs quite well in a Linux environment, but it takes some minor tweaking to get it working. But, it does work and it's great; you even see more details than on Windows. It's just going to get better on Linux, along with other games.

You know you are completely right, I actually play on linux on my laptop but I use the XIV Launcher the the DXVK api, I can't believe it completely slipped my mind!

[miraidensetsu]

I'm actually disappointed that in this entire post, and specifically mentioning Vulkan, there was absolutely no room to also mention that this would open up Linux gaming support? With the influx of people moving off of Windows 11 and into the realm of Linux gaming, this is another valid complaint about legacy API as it can also relate to the future of Vulkan.

Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

[s32ialx]

Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

[Terhix]

It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

If they're just gonna wrap it in Wine as they've done with Mac, I'd rather them not do it at all. The game runs on steam deck already, steam machine should be no different. If you run the game through Steam you can just play on Linux out of the box. Otherwise just install Bottles and run the Windows installer in that without ever touching the terminal. Native Vulkan would be nice though since that would make the shader recompilation obsolete.

I only ever had a few issues with XIV on Linux, all launcher related and easily fixable. Lately they switched to WebView2 which you could opt-out of (Proton didn't support it yet, it does now), and then they added user agent screening which you could circumvent via settings. They fixed the last one the next day quoting steam deck as the target for the fix, so at this point I think it's safe to say SE is at least aware of their Linux / SteamOS user base. As long as they won't do anything to actively break the Linux support they just don't have to do anything.

I use Arch btw

[Greyhawk]

Nay. The amount of players moving off Windows 11 may appear bigger, but it's really negligible.

S-E can and should add support for Vulkan AND DX12. Linux may be a welcome bonus, but the focus should continue being Windows 11.

You are misinterpreting what I am saying. It's not about people moving off Windows to Linux, or ending support of DX in Windows. That's not it at all, it's about opening support to more than JUST Windows. As it's been for a long time wtih any other kind of application. Hell, even Microsoft themselves have added support/compatibility for Linux, adding SQL for Linux and .NET, and this is frankly no different.

[Greyhawk]

I'm currently on Linux Mint, and it's been working great. You can even run the launcher via Lutris. Works great and I personally think it looks better than on Malware 11. I was fine running on Windows - until they decided to inject AI and their Recall program. 25H2 was the last straw for me.