Square Enix and Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios are partnering for Final Fantasy XIV Mobile, a portable “sister” experience to one of the world’s biggest MMORPGs.
This upcoming mobile game is described as an “extension” that captures the original game’s immersive experience in a “fresh, mobile-friendly format.” Not only will it seek to faithfully recreate a decade’s worth of epic storytelling, Final Fantasy XIV Mobile will also include auxiliary enrichment experiences like Triple Triad, chocobo racing, and fishing.
“It has been 11 years since FFXIV 2.0: A Realm Reborn launched, and this new mobile game will be a sister to FFXIV, aiming to recreate the grandeur of the original’s story and combat mechanics on mobile devices,” said Final Fantasy XIV‘s Producer and Director, Naoki Yoshida. “Non-combat features, such as Disciples of the Land and Hand, will also be faithfully implemented, and we look forward to growing alongside the passionate FFXIV community.”
To this end, Final Fantasy XIV Mobile will re-craft visual elements from the main game and optimize them for the smartphone environment. Lightspeed is aiming to recreate not only the unique look of characters and enemies, but the environments as well, right down to the weather patterns and daily cycles.
Lightspeed Studios was established by Tencent in 2020, is perhaps best-known as the co-developer of PUBG Mobile, and developer of the upcoming AAA open-world game, Last Sentinel. With studios across the world, the company’s mission is to provide next-generation experiences to gamers across multiple genres and devices. Capcom veteran Hideaki Itsuno was tapped to lead Lightspeed’s Japan studio earlier this month.
While today’s announcement is a bit of a surprise, the existence of Final Fantasy XIV Mobile was teased this summer. Square Enix and Tencent made a “strategic alliance” deal back in 2018, though no projects have seen the light of day until now; reports suggest a mobile NieR game was in the works but cancelled.
Final Fantasy XIV Mobile is not the first time Square Enix has attempted to port one of its MMORPGs to mobile devices. Korean studio Nexon had worked on a reimagining of Final Fantasy XI for six years before its cancellation in 2021. At the time, Gematsu reported the project wasn’t meeting expectations.
Final Fantasy XIV Mobile will receive multiple playtests in China “soon,” and release globally shortly after. With five massive expansions to consider, it’s not immediately clear how the adaptation will compare to the original version, or how it will interact with existing player accounts.
