Final Fantasy 14 has experienced a surge in both concurrent players and viewership on Twitch. The flood of players and viewers stems from multiple major World of Warcraft streamers trying out Final Fantasy 14 on stream.
Recently, Final Fantasy 14 has been going from strength to strength on the title's approach to its fourth major expansion, Endwalker. The concurrent player count, which, prior to current events, sat at an average daily peak of roughly 30,000 players, shot up to 47,000, surpassed Final Fantasy 14's previous peak that coincided with the release of its third expansion Shadowbringers.
Perhaps the deciding factor in the sudden spike of players has been the streamer Asmongold's overall approval of the game. A long-term World of Warcraft veteran, Asmongold had prior held a dim view of Final Fantasy 14. Despite some trolls stymieing his first foray into Final Fantasy 14, Asmongold, nevertheless, has persevered with the title and seems to feel positive towards Final Fantasy 14's early-game content.
Asmongold's focus on the game has shot up viewer numbers as well- with sources indicating Final Fantasy 14 experienced a record-breaking volume of viewers alongside players. Some 220,000 viewers engaged with Final Fantasy 14 on Twitch on July 3 across all channels, again surpassing prior records.
While there is no bad blood between Blizzard and Square Enix, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 are at each other's throats when it comes to market share. While World of Warcraft in its totality remains the larger title, split between its Classic and Modern formats, Final Fantasy 14 is competing for the title of largest MMO more and more with each passing day.
While it will be years, if ever, at all- until Final Fantasy 14 matches World of Warcraft's 100 million-plus registered accounts, Final Fantasy 14, is, ultimately, competing with World of Warcraft in terms of active players. The adoption of Final Fantasy 14 by notable World of Warcraft streamers is ultimately all the advertisement Final Fantasy 14 needs- showing die-hard World of Warcraft veterans that quality MMO experiences can be found outside of their comfort zone.
Final Fantasy 14 is noted as having a beginner-friendly community, as well as a free trial that Final Fantasy 14 fans will not let the internet forget about. The accessibility of the game could also play a factor in its current success- unlike World of Warcraft, which is PC only, Final Fantasy 14 stands as one of the best MMO options available for PlayStation fans. Unfortunately, however, those who primarily use Xbox cannot access either title.
The ongoing player spike into Final Fantasy 14 is testament to the influence major streamers like Asmongold exert as both entertainers, and, intentional or not, advertisers.
Final Fantasy 14 is out now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
Sources: PCGamer, SteamDB, MMO Population