Alpha test for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn begins this month

Posted By: Michael Lacerna In: Console News, Gaming News, PC, Playstation 3 On: 05 Oct

Final Fantasy XIV got a less than enthusiastic reception when it launched, and Square-Enix is hoping to make amends by relaunching the game as an almost entirely different, new game within the next few months. Unlike the seemingly haphazard way that the original game was launched, Square-Enix seems to be taking a slow, cautious approach in regards to the release of the new FFXIV, starting with a limited alpha test later this month.

In a post on the game’s official forums, FFXIV produced Naoki Yoshida explained the slow roll-out of FFXIV’s new features. “There will not only be stress tests for the new servers’ coding and hardware configurations, but also tests for what will be the backbone of the game’s new system, which is why we’re being very cautious with development. Bear with us for just a while longer.”

In the meantime, Square will keep the current version of FFXIV online while the alpha test runs, though Yoshida mentioned that the company will probably take the original version of the game offline once their servers drop below 30% of the maximum player population.

Final Fantasy XIV was (rightfully) mocked when it was first released, but it sounds like Square is putting a lot of effort (and money) into making sure the relaunch of the game goes well. There’s no telling if FFXIV will ever be able to erase the stigma that it was branded with during its tumultuous first few months, but it’ll definitely be interesting to see the game’s progress and how people respond to it in the upcoming months.

Source: Square-Enix forums