Asmongold, one of World of Warcraft‘s largest streamers, started his Final Fantasy XIV journey last weekend. His first stream netted him over 200k viewers and 7,000 new subscribers. He also earned well over $30,000 in donations.
However, the stream wasn't completely smooth sailing. He was swarmed by a horde of onlookers that followed him around at every turn. Some of them even causing chaos by blocking certain NPCs with mounts or spamming animations. Despite all of this, he seems to have enjoyed himself nonetheless. He stated that he will continue to play FFXIV until he reaches the endgame raids.
He also isn't the only WoW personality to have made the jump into Eorzea. Streamers like CohhCarnage and content creators like Bellular have also recently tried out FFXIV. It looks like there are more eyes on Square Enix's MMO than ever. Especially as its greatest rival is just coming off an incredibly long 218-day wait for Shadowlands‘ Chains of Dominion patch.
Additionally, FFXIV recently broke its concurrent player record on Steam, a noteworthy occurrence, as it does not coincide with a major in-game content release. It seems like the increased visibility from incoming content creators, a growing number of disgruntled WoW players, and FFXIV continuing to go from strength to strength after the conclusion of the phenomenal Shadowbringers expansion has created a recipe for success.
We also cannot discount the impact of Final Fantasy XIV‘s generously expanded Free Trial. It allows you to play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning Heavensward expansion with no restrictions on playtime.
All this comes at a time when excitement for the upcoming Endwalker expansion continues to ramp up. Things are certainly looking bright for Square Enix's MMO.