23 years in, Square Enix takes emergency action with classic MMO Final Fantasy 11 booming so hard amid discounts and a Final Fantasy 14 raid collab that worlds are spilling over

I am pleased to announce that Final Fantasy 11 is where it's at right now – Square Enix has had to shut down the MMO's most popular server to new players because, well, it's too popular.

On the game's website, producer and director Yoji Fujito shares that "overall player population has been trending upward recently." More players are always cool when it comes to online multiplayer games, but it's been a tricky one for the MMO's most popular server, Asura.

"The Development and Operations teams have been working hard to help all of you enjoy your gaming experience even more, but it has been discovered that the concentration of player populations on certain Worlds has led to a series of unexpected issues that have managed to affect the quality of that experience somewhat," Fujito says. "This includes things like system messages not displaying properly in Vana'Bout, for example."

The solution? Unless you already call Asura your online home, it's now a no-go zone. You can't transfer there for the time being, nor can you create a new character tied to the server.

"We plan to continue monitoring the number of logged-in users as well as various other factors and will seek to resume the above-mentioned services and functionality when appropriate," Fujito adds.

"In addition to developing and revising in-game content, we are working hard to maintain an environment where players around the world can enjoy the game, so we appreciate your continued support of Final Fantasy 11!"

If you're wondering why Final Fantasy 11 is cooking up an absolute storm right now, it's likely several factors.

Final Fantasy 14 features a FF11-themed raid series that's likely making veterans pine for a return or encouraging new players to give it a go – something that's easier to do right now thanks to discount campaigns.

Also, Final Fantasy 14 itself isn't cooking quite so hard right now. The Dawntrail expansion has been a bit of a struggle, and while signs of recovery do appear here and there, we're not quite there yet. Additionally, it's probably worth noting that server capacity for Final Fantasy 11 is likely less than Final Fantasy 14.

That, and people like to hop around MMOs sometimes. World of Warcraft is in pretty good health right now, but a lot of people are currently vacationing in Old School Runescape to enjoy different scenery.

Regardless, it's lovely to see a 23-year-old MMO get some love. Unless you're trying to log into Asura, I suppose.

It's wild to think that Square Enix considered shutting down the original Final Fantasy MMO years ago. Thankfully, the devs received "a lot of support" to keep it going.