Nexon Confirms & Explains Final Fantasy XI Mobile Restart Cancellation
Portal Gematsu, citing Japanese edition Gamebiz.jp, announced the mobile restart’s cancellation of the online role-playing game Final Fantasy XI, which Nexon and Square Enix worked on.
The Korean edition of MTN reported back in December 2020 that Nexon and Square Enix had stopped production of Final Fantasy XI R (the codename of the restart). Still, official confirmation from Nexon came only now.
Recall that Final Fantasy XI R was announced back in March 2015. A full release was expected in 2016, but development dragged on: the first screenshots had to wait until May 2018.
Nexon promised to create a “fun, responsive and dynamic experience” with a mobile device in mind, based on Final Fantasy XI’s “cohesive storyline, engaging gameplay, and impressive graphics.”
As reported by Gamebiz.jp, Nexon and Square Enix ended up dissatisfied with Final Fantasy XI R’s quality and decided to end cooperation, redirecting their efforts to other endeavors.
The Japanese edition notes that the project was not approached creatively enough, as a result of which Final Fantasy XI R did not live up to the standards that its fans expect from the games of the series.
The PS2 version of the original Final Fantasy XI debuted in May 2002 in Japan. Over the next years, the game reached other regions and platforms – PC (September 2004) and Xbox (April 2006).
