Congratulations, Final Fantasy XI; as of today you are officially old enough to legally go out drinking. (We’re all going to pretend we forgot that you were clearly on a bender during Wings of the Goddess.) Yes, today marks the game’s 21st anniversary based on the game’s initial launch in Japan, and producer and director Yoji Fujito has penned a letter personally thanking the large number of adventurers who have joined in exploring Vana’diel over the past 21 years as well as reminding everyone of the expansive anniversary site We Are Vana’diel established last year.
Of course, Fujito also notes that this year has seen the team reduce its size and directly states that the amount of new content on a regular basis will decline. However, he also insists that there will still be new things coming for the game, and maintenance on the game will remain ongoing. “Vana’diel’s not going anywhere,” according to his own words. It may be a fair bit more quiet than it was in the past, but it seems clear that Fujito isn’t bluffing; there’s a lot of life left in Vana’diel even after 21 years.
