As countless live-service games and MMORPGs struggle to establish healthy player bases, Final Fantasy 11, which turns 24 this year, is having the exact opposite problem. After a considerable influx of new players that started in mid-2025, another server is being taken off the board for those signing up now.

As reported by FRVR's blog, Square Enix has announced FF11's Odin server will no longer accept new players "starting on March 10, 2026." This also includes the Character World Transfer service that allows players to "convert" pre-existing characters to new servers. It marks yet another sign of the ageing MMORPG seeing a surge in popularity despite FF14 being the newer, flashier MMO for Final Fantasy fans.

Last year, FF11 producer/director Yoji Fujito announced the Asura server would be closed off due to "congestion" issues. Later, the Bahamut server followed. Odin will be the third server in less than a year locking itself away to avoid such problems. That's a fantastic "problem" to have, though.

Online tracking says Odin is currently hitting concurrent player counts of over 13,000 players, with Asura going over 11,000, and Bahamut consistently going past 9,000. In servers like Phoenix, Fenrir, and Ragnarok, player counts are active, but far more calm. Regardless, it's easy to see that FF11 continues to thrive against all odds.

It must be noted the sentiment around Final Fantasy 14 hasn't been as glowing as usual following the release of its Dawntrail expansion in summer 2024. Mind you, the game is hugely popular still, but one can see why some players - especially diehards running out of meaningful things to do - might have started to look for alternatives. And what's better than going back to check out a same-franchise MMORPG you missed back in the day?