Ten years after its release, Final Fantasy XI has been the most financially successful game Square Enix have released. Even with its successor - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - facing a re-release, the original FF MMORPG still has a loyal following and, it seems, plans for the future.
Not content to shut up shop, current producer Akihiko Matsui has given an interim report on what the team has been working on. It's a slow moving process, but it looks as though the development team understand the problems facing the ageing beast and are taking steps to fix it.
With the userbase far smaller than it was in Final Fantasy XI's "glory days," Matsui says that things need to change so that new players can experience the vast range of content. They haven't stopped with what content they already have though; the fifth expansion pack - Seekers of Adoulin - is slated for a 2013 release, so there is still growth and new content to be experienced.
It's all very promising for players and fans, and between Naoki Yoshida and Akihiko Matsui, it seems the MMORPG installments in our favourite series are in good hands.
[Source: Jostiq]