Final Fantasy XIV launches free two-week trial program

Just two weeks after inviting inactive Final Fantasy XIV players back for a free weekend , Square Enix is now offering free two-week trials to everyone—with a few restrictions, of course.

Anyone can take part in the free trial, but only once, and only if they're not already a FFXIV player. The trial accounts allow the creation of just one character per world, and those characters can only advance to level 20. Trial players cannot use the shout, yell or tell commands, they cannot trade, they cannot use the Market Board or the Moogle Delivery Service, they cannot hire retainers, and they cannot do a whole bunch of other things, either. There are also limits on the amount of "gil," FFXIV's in-game currency, that trial players may acquire, although the FAQ doesn't say what the limit actually is. The most significant difference from the World of Warcraft trial, obviously, is that once the 14 days are up, you're done.

It's a long list of limitations, but on the other hand, it's free, and if you like what you see and sign up for a subscription within 90 days of the end of the free trial, your character will carry over. And it appears that this will be an ongoing program; the 14-day period begins immediately following account creation, and there's no "get it while it's hot" expiration date on the free trial site that I can see.

Square Enix also launched a new "Recruit a Friend" campaign today, offering in-game rewards to anyone whose invited friends subscribe to the game for either 30 or 90 days.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.