The latest version update for Final Fantasy XI has arrived, and it also contains some pretty useful information for fans looking to learn more about the changes in FFXI leadership and development plans. Yoji Fujito explains in this month’s digest, for example, that he will not only be the producer but the director of the game, a similar consolidated leadership to the way that Final Fantasy XIV operates. He also explains a bit more about shrinking the development team, noting that not only is the technology used for FFXI old but that there are limits to how much can be done with the game’s current development framework; The Voracious Resurgence is about as far as it can stretch.
Based on this information and the fact that the developers would likely wind up somewhat limited even if Square-Enix could update all of FFXI’s development to more modern software, the team would still be limited. Despite the updates being smaller, Fujito promises that there will still be new content and the team is going to keep putting out monthly updates. He also notes that the team will be working on some longer maintenance cycles to get the server hardware replaced and upgraded, making it clear that even with this month’s smaller update, development has not stopped completely on the now 20-year-old game.
