A fully congested North America server screen greeted aspiring new Final Fantasy XIV players last night. For a while, every single server in all three NA Data Centers was congested. Due to this, no new characters could be created. The Square Enix Store even ran out of digital copies of the game.

Yup, this is actually happening. Would-be sprouts, please be patient – this is pretty unprecedented. Server congestion is temporary. from ffxiv

This sudden surge of new players is unprecedented in the game's history. There is no upcoming substantial content drop in the next few weeks. The next expansion, Endwalker, isn't due to release until November. Despite this, FFXIV has been breaking its own concurrent player records. The influx of popular content creators such as World of Warcraft veteran, Asmongold, probably helped a great deal in putting more eyes on the game. Additionally, the less-than-enthusiastic reception to WoW‘s long-awaited 9.1 Chains of Domination patch might be an additional factor. Together with these factors is the game's expanded Free Trial, and all the positive traction the game has garnered throughout the years.

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Final Fantasy XIV also released the Endwalker benchmark yesterday. The benchmark will let you check your PC's ability to play the expansion once it comes out. You'll also be able to create and save character data for the incoming new race, Male Viera, in the benchmark and carry it over to the game when the expansion drops. You can download the benchmark from the official website. Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker releases on November 23, 2021 for PS4, PS5, PC and Mac.

If you're hoping to create a new character, we'd advise trying to log in during general downtime hours like the early morning to avoid player congestion.