It’s been nearly a year since Twitch streamer Asmongold visited Eorzea. He had just finished the award-winning Heavensward expansion and had just taken his first steps into 2017’s Stormblood when we last saw him. Since then, he’s been immersed in Final Fantasy XIV‘s raid content while pining for the chance to do an Ultimate, at least in terms of the main quest scenario. Asmongold, on the other hand, took a long break from streaming after being a part of the Endwalker media tour. We don’t need to go into this for a variety of reasons.
Since then, he’s made a comeback with the recently released Lost Arc, followed by Elden Ring. When will he play Final Fantasy XIV again, the constant question in the room? He probably postponed it for the current summer games season. After all, summer is notoriously slow for gaming, and there’s a lot of streaming to be done. And what could be better than an MMORPG with ten years of content?
Final Fantasy XIV became a big deal last year after Asmongold and other World of Warcraft players tried it out. It was such a big deal that servers were bursting at the seams.
Although the digital store ran out of keys and the popular free trial had to be paused, many of the streamers abandoned the MMORPG in favor of less time-consuming games.
The constant question in the room is when he will play Final Fantasy XIV again. He most likely put it off until the current summer games season. Summer is known for being slow for gaming, and there’s a lot of streaming to be done. And what’s better than an MMORPG with ten years’ worth of content?
Final Fantasy XIV became a big deal last year after Asmongold and other World of Warcraft players tried it out. Servers were bursting at the seams because it was such a big deal.
However, reaction streams have recently become popular. Since XIV has a long and winding story with numerous twists and turns. Many players enjoy watching how content creators react. Giggle away as they try to predict the next plot twist or eagerly watch as their heart is ripped out and trampled on.
Outside of community projects like PvP events, streaming and content creation for Final Fantasy XIV usually picks up every four months. Whenever a new raid, and especially a new Ultimate, is about to be released. And right now, we’re in the middle of a patch, so everyone is probably maxed out and waiting for the next raid tier.
It’s also difficult to build excitement around an expansion release because most people want to watch the reactions. Typically, people prefer to discover the story for themselves. Asmongold will benefit from arriving late to the party.
The importance of the Texan streamer’s decision to broadcast Final Fantasy XIV last year cannot be overstated. The timing of the Activision Blizzard controversies in 2021 created a perfect storm. There was a 6-month gap in content last year, shortly after the announcement of XIV’s Endwalker expansion.
While Asmongold started the trend of ‘Ex WoW streamer trying FFXIV,’ he was the one who kicked that rock down the hill. Suddenly, many more people’s gazes were drawn to Final Fantasy XIV.
A game that had slowly grown into a worthy alternative to World of Warcraft over the course of ten years, but also establish a solid reputation within the industry and among its target audience. To be honest, Final Fantasy XIV didn’t suddenly improve. It had been slowly and steadily growing since the relaunch with A Realm Reborn in 2013.
While improving, it never received the mainstream attention it deserved. Probably because it never tried to position itself as the ‘WoW-Killer,’ only to crash and burn soon after. Asmongold’s promotion of the game allowed many of his viewers, as well as the general public, to see why players adore Final Fantasy XIV.
Indeed, Asmongold’s foray into Eorzea may have been overly successful. His 130,000+ viewers not only shut down entire zones in the early game. Because it was now considered a “good game,” many more people became interested in it.
Square Enix had to shut down the popular free trial, and, even funnier, they ran out of digital copies to sell. Even director and producer Naoki Yoshida has stated numerous times that Asmongold had a significant influence on the film. Not only did Endwalker launch to record numbers, but the sudden influx of players also put a strain on servers for a month.
Since then, the team behind Final Fantasy XIV has outlined an addition to their still-stressed server infrastructure. In the coming months, NA will receive an entirely new datacenter. In addition, the Japanese and European datacenters will receive several new worlds.
It will be interesting to see if Asmongold’s second foray into the Final Fantasy XIV world has the same effect on the populace. And it’s not like a perfect storm isn’t on the way. Many thanks to the aforementioned streamers, as well as Asmongold’s OTK college Rich Campbell and others. Twitch viewers are well aware of what to expect from MSQ streams. Asmongold will also get a taste of what Ultimate content will be like by entering Stormblood.
What most of us curious observers are more interested in is whether Asmongold can spark a second wave of ‘World of Warcraft refugees.’
Many have found a new or secondary home in Final Fantasy XIV, and the title’s streaming by arguably the biggest World of Warcraft content creator will undoubtedly boost sales once more. Especially now, when there is a content drought. It remains to be seen whether it will be similar to last year. Streamers may give the game another chance now that there aren’t many big games coming out in the next few months, and there’s little doubt that will happen once Asmongold resumes streaming XIV. It will, if only for a short time, command the attention of Twitch viewers.
Let’s hope that the changes made after the release of Endwalker make server issues less of an issue this time around.
Asmongold has stopped progressing in XIV after being introduced to the Stormblood expansion, as previously stated. It’s arguably the point at which Final Fantasy XIV’s content began to take shape. But it remains to be seen whether he, like his contemporaries, will become a XIV mainstay. Or if it will at the very least keep him occupied until the release of Wrath of the Lichking Classic.
