BBC「FF14はWoWの完全なライバルです」
tps://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58017429

'Insane' growth

Final Fantasy XIV is arguably WoW's most like-for-like competitor. At launch in 2010, it was famously so bad that the developers "destroyed the world" to rebuild the game from square one - a rags-to-riches redemption story that has since attracted millions of players.

But all of a sudden, it's seen player numbers surge during what should be a quiet time for the game - its next big expansion is not due for months.

Zepla, an FFXIV YouTube creator and streamer, said "the last few weeks have been insane."

"We usually get a lot of new players when an expansion comes, but this surpasses even that," she said.

The game is so popular that it temporarily stopped selling new copies. Director Naoki Yoshida issued a heartfelt apology for server issues caused by the "staggering and unexpected" influx of new players.