How Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker Was Uniquely Inspired by the Pandemic

The creative team behind Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker explain how the pandemic didn’t just affect development, It also changed its story.

This latest Final Fantasy 14 expansion, Endwalker, was set to conclude multiple storylines that began in 2013. A payoff that players have long been waiting for, and once finished would set the stage for the next 10 years of Final Fantasy 14. If A Realm Reborn was meant to save a franchise at risk, Endwalker was a victory lap, and fan expectation was at a fever pitch.

The Covid pandemic threatened to throw a last-minute wrench into the plans as global video game development became severely impacted by work-from-home policies. But like the heroes of Final Fantasy 14 itself, the developers found the will to persevere through a global calamity to deliver on the long-awaited conclusion.