Ancient MMO Final Fantasy 11 still has new things on the horizon 24 years after launch

A Final Fantasy 11 character wearing a flamboyant red outfit. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14 isn't the only Final Fantasy-related MMO. Its ancient ancestor, Final Fantasy 11, which released all the way back in 2002 before World of Warcraft reshaped the landscape for massively multiplayer games, is still trucking along. It's not exactly bustling next to the likes of FF14, Guild Wars 2, and WoW, but it occasionally attracts so much activity its dusty old servers buckle.

It seems like Square Enix wants to bring the game, if one small step at a time, into the current decade as well. Its website just got a shiny overhaul, and now it looks like something from 15 years ago rather than 25 years ago. Just to be clear, you still have to wrangle the abysmal and esoteric PlayOnline installer to get the game running; this is just a fresh coat of paint for the web.

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"The fact that the game has continued to thrive for so long is due to the tremendous support it has received from all of you adventurers out there and the 'culture' you have created around the world of Vana'diel," wrote game director Yoji Fujito in the post. "The game's success has forced us to update our long-term goals for the project yet again … the entire FFXI team will be hard at work to further solidify the game's foundation and help it reach its 30th anniversary."

It certainly sounds like more is on the horizon for the classic MMO. A livestream from Square Enix reportedly shared another tidbit of news yesterday, though I can't verify it myself as the stream is in Japanese. Reddit user hikiri translated the stream's FF11-related info in a post, with the headliner being that the game's 14-day free trial limit will no longer be time limited and will allow players to progress to level 75. "The areas are limited like normal, but you'll be able to play forever at level 75 on the trial in the OG zones," the post reads.

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Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...