Final Fantasy 14's free trials are coming back

Final Fantasy 14 will once again be offering free trials from next week.

Addressing fans in his latest Letter from the Producer livestream, producer/director Naoki Yoshida confirmed that now servers were more stable again, the game's generous free trials - which give new players the chance to give the game a go before fully committing - would be available again from February 22 on both PC and PlayStation console. 

Developer Square Enix was forced to temporarily suspend free trials and digital sales for the highly successful MMORPG last December to keep up with the high demand and better manage lengthy queues for fans trying to join the game. Then, last month, the developer pulled out all the stops to help keep servers secure, including opening a new Oceanian data center, and expansions of Japanese, European, and North American data centers are scheduled throughout 2022. 

So now that digital sales and player registrations have been reinstated, the free trials are back now, too (thanks, NME).

Wondering if you should give Final Fantasy 14 a go in 2022? Hirun certainly thinks so.

"Just over a month from Endwalker's launch, Final Fantasy 14 has arguably never been in better shape than it has been right now," he wrote. "It might take you potentially hours to get into the MMORPG in the first place – hell, you can't even get into the game at all right now if you're a brand new prospective player – but what awaits you after is a vast and welcoming player base, Dungeons with hordes of players chomping at the bit to squad up, an enthralling new storyline and subsequent lands to explore, and so much more. 

"Whether you're a new player or returning to Eorzea after a little break, there really isn't a better time to experience Final Fantasy 14 for yourself."

ICYMI, yesterday Final Fantasy 14 producer/director Naoki Yoshida confirmed that there are no plans on "incorporating any sort of NFT element in the game at this point".

While he acknowledged the idea of NFTs in games interested him during his Letter from the Producer broadcast earlier today, he was quick to add that the team at Square Enix had noticed "many comments about how [Western audiences are] opposed to NFTs" and admitted, "there might be a little bit of sensitivity and nervousness around the topic".

"If anybody is worried or concerned about it, I can clearly state at this time that we do not have any intentions to incorporate that into the game," Yoshida said.

Does Final Fantasy 14 make it to our list of the best MMORPGs?