Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a 2013 massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix, a complete relaunch of the original 2010 Final Fantasy XIV. The first version had been a critical and commercial failure, so disastrous that Square Enix took the unprecedented step of pulling it offline, rebuilding it from the ground up under new director Naoki Yoshida, and literally destroying the old game world in an in-story apocalypse before reopening it. Set in the realm of Eorzea five years later, A Realm Reborn launched on Windows and PlayStation 3 (with PlayStation 4 and later platforms following) and adopts the series' Job system, letting a single character switch between every combat and crafting class. It pairs a strong, fully voiced main scenario with classic MMO structures of dungeons, raids, trials and a subscription model. The relaunch is one of gaming's most celebrated turnaround stories: it salvaged the franchise's reputation and, bolstered by acclaimed expansions such as Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker, grew into one of the most popular and respected MMORPGs in the world. A Realm Reborn is widely cited as a model of how thoughtful development and community trust can rescue a failed live-service game.