Final Fantasy XIV Popularity Rose to Astronomical Heights, Resulted in Massive Server Congestion

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker
Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Square Enix

The popularity of Final Fantasy XIV has reached new heights. So much that its servers have experienced massive congestion over the weekends.

Just recently, the game received a massive influx of players thanks in large part to Asmongold, a popular World of Warcraft streamer.

WoW ’s player count has dwindled because of a lack of player interest and new content, which prompted the popular streamer to try FFXIV out.

The streamer didn't have a smooth sail in the beginning. Some players were stream-sniping to block the NPCs needed by Asmongold to complete certain quests. Still, his playtime was an overall positive experience.

Because of Asmongold, the concurrent users of the game peaked at almost 53,000 on July 11, according to the Steam stats. This, in turn, caused more people to buy digital copies of the game.

Sold Out

Final Fantasy XIV is more than eight years old at this point. Its 24-hour peak was 51,469 and had an all-time peak of 58,043. That peak happened in the last 30 days, which included the effort by the streamer.

That said, the sudden interest in the game has led to another unprecedented event. Apparently, the digital copies of the game were sold out. So, those who wanted to buy the base game and its expansions were put on a waiting list.

To be clear, “sold out” in this case just means that the pre-generated codes for the game have all been purchased. The issue has since been resolved.

Redditor @Polydopamine explained what else happened. Aside from the fact that Final Fantasy XIV’s digital copies were sold out for a limited time, people who purchased the game couldn't create a new character due to server congestion.

That is certainly not the case anymore, of course. Most servers are up and running without issues, based on the game’s server status page.

In addition to Asmongold’s influence, the Final Fantasy XIV ’s sudden rise in popularity may also be attributed to the upcoming Endwalker expansion slated on November 23.

The upcoming expansion features two new character classes, as well as Male Vieras, and more.

So, have you tried the game out recently? If so, how’s your experience after the massive influx of players over the weekends?

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