Square Enix considered ending Final Fantasy 11 in 2024, but player interest was high enough to keep it alive even after 20+ years

Speaking to Dengeki Online, Fujito reveals that at one point prior to Final Fantasy XI’s 20th anniversary (2022), Square Enix considered ending support for it as a living game. “There was a real possibility that 2024 would be the year updates would come to an end, with the game shifting into a so-called maintenance mode, where only system upkeep would be performed.” The original idea was for things to wrap up after The Voracious Resurgence storyline was completed. Furthermore, as FFXI’s was reaching its server lifetime at the time, Fujito says that they even considered completely shutting down the game.