Revamped Final Fantasy XIV won’t be free-to-play due to a “promise”

While Square Enix revamps Final Fantasy XIV to hopefully turn it into a MMORPG that the fans of the series will truly enjoy, many gamers wondered if the game would keep the subscription model or turn into free-to-play, the current trend for MMOs.

Producer Naoki Yoshida revealed to VG247 that the subscription model is here to stay due to a past promise, and that free-to-play isn’t necessarily the way to go for every game:

“One of the promises we originally stated was that we would release the game with a subscription model. Players will be able to play it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days in the year if they paid a subscription fee. So to regain the trust of our players we must of course fulfill this promise. Right now we believe that to be more important than any kind of business decision.”