Final Fantasy 14 devs once thought Field Operations would only "resonate" with select fans of the MMO, but now "it feels like even more players than we expected are looking forward to the next piece"

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot showing the Warrior of Light, a man with lengthy swept-back brown hair, blue eyes, and facial hair stubble, smiling slightly — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14's latest Field Operation, Occult Crescent, is up there with what the community has been looking forward to the most out of the Dawnwalker run of content, but at one point, many years ago, Square Enix thought it was the sort of thing that would only appeal to a smaller group of people.

Speaking in a new interview with GamesRadar+ on all things Occult Crescent, Final Fantasy 14 assistant director Tsuyoshi Yokozawa and battle content designer Daisuke Nakagawa say that, although reactions to their initial reveal of the new entry in the MMO's growing series of Field Operations came too late to "impact" development, Square Enix received quite a lot of feedback on previous iterations like Eureka and Save the Queen that helped.

"When we announced that we'd be adding the Occult Crescent, our planning and some implementation were already underway, so there was no direct impact on development," state the devs. "That said, we received a great deal of feedback on previous Field Operations, and the impact of this feedback has been extremely significant on the development of this content." That's not all, though – Field Operations have proven more popular than expected.

In fact, many fans were waiting for more since the close of Endwalker and the later arrival of Dawntrail. "The requests for Field Operations that continue from Endwalker were reiterated by the many voices of anticipation we received when we announced the implementation of the Occult Crescent," explain Yokozawa and Nakagawa. "We feel that player demand and enthusiasm have increased compared to when we originally released Eureka."

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The two describe the surge in interest in Field Operations – one I'm sure will continue with Occult Crescent now, as a longtime player myself. "Back then, we thought it would be the kind of content that would really resonate with the select people who love the concept - but now, Field Operations serve as a major type of content in Final Fantasy 14, and it feels like even more players than we expected are looking forward to the next piece."

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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