2023 has marked the 10th anniversary of the release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and while players have experienced in-game events, special competitions, and more, Square Enix is now giving some of the people most familiar with the game the chance to celebrate.
Hosting messages from a variety of figures, the 10th Anniversary Message site was unveiled on Dec. 4, and started with none other than the creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Sakaguchi, whose career started at Square Enix precursor, Square, and is known for creating the Final Fantasy, Rad Racer, Blue Dragon, and Terra Battle series, made a toast to FFXIV in a heartfelt message. In the video, he muses on the fact he’d only played the game for around a year and a half but it's like “celebrating my own child turning 10, or a 10-year marriage, something like that.” Sakaguchi ends the video by toasting to FFXIV enthusiastically and then chugging a full glass of champagne.
The Final Fantasy creator started playing the game in September 2021, reportedly to prepare for a talk on the series alongside FFXIV producer and director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida. However, his connection to the game quickly grew, and reportedly played “12 hours a day” saying at FFXIV’s recent Fan Festival that “It pretty much is 50 percent of my day.”
FFXIV: A Realm Reborn released on Aug. 27, 2013, effectively as a relaunch or reboot of the initial 1.0 version of the game, which was almost universally disliked. ARR elevated FFXIV from a commercial and critical failure to a celebrated MMO title, and is cited as an example of how a disastrous game launch can be transformed through hard work and continued development. The game’s 10th Anniversary celebrations have spanned almost the entirety of 2023.
Final Fantasy XIV’s 10th Anniversary Message site will reportedly continue updating throughout this month, with messages from other prominent figures. Check back to the website regularly to catch more.
