Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was first announced as a PlayStation 3 and Windows exclusive title, however the game has since been released on the PlayStation 4 in 2014 and will be released on the PlayStation 5 in 2021. Square Enix has since announced a PS4 version that will be released in 2014. An XBox version has not been ruled out and there are rumours it is coming, but as yet nothing has been announced.
The Windows version will utilise DirectX 9 and have support for Windows 7, 64 bit operating systems and multi-core processors. Soon after the game’s release there will be an update to allow the game to utilise DirectX 11 features, which will require a new client download provided by Square Enix. The game will have support for multiple screens and SLI/CrossFire.
The game is designed with current high-end PCs in mind as the developers want the game to still look good in five years time. The graphics will be designed for the PC and then altered to fit the console versions, meaning the PC version will look better than the PS3 version due to the age of the console and what a PC is capable of these days in comparisson. One difference is that the console version will only be 720p whereas the PC version will have a variety of resolutions including 1080p.
Below you will see the FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, the minimum and recommended system requirements. They are pretty much the same as the system requirements released for the beta with the exception that Windows XP is no longer supported. This is because Microsoft plan to stop supporting the OS next year.
Final Fantasy XIV Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: Windows® Vista 32/64bit, Windows® 7 32/64 bit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo
Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800 Series, ATI Radeon™ HD 4770
Memory: 2GB (4GB recommended for 64bit OS)
Disk Space: 20GB.
You may notice that these are lower than the minimum system requirements for v1.0. This is because Square Enix wants the game to be more accessible and run on a wider range of PCs.
Final Fantasy XIV Recommended System Requirements
For the best performance you should aim to run the game on a system with at least these specifications.
Operating System: Windows® 7 64 bit
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5
Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® GTX 660 or higher, AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or higher
Memory: 4GB of RAM.
Disk Space: 20GB.
On February 21st Square Enix released an official benchmark tool that allows you to see if your machine is capable of running FFFXIV: A Realm Reborn and give you a score based on how well it performs. With your benchmark score you can see whether your machine will need an upgrade or not. The benchmark tool can be found at the official website and you get to watch a very pretty trailer while running it.
There will be a second benchmark around the time of FFXIV: ARR’s launch which will include the charactor creation process. 2000 seems to be the lowest score that would comfortably run the game on default settings. All of the possible results are listed below.
[7000 and over] Extremely High Performance
Easily capable of running the game on the highest settings.
[5000–6999] Very High Performance
Easily capable of running the game. Should perform exceptionally well, even at higher resolutions.
[3500-4999] High Performance
Easily capable of running the game. Should perform well, even at higher resolutions.
[2500-3499] Fairly High Performance
Capable of running the game on default settings. Consider switching to a higher resolution depending on performance.
[2000-2499] Standard Performance
Capable of running the game on default settings.
[1500-1999] Slightly Low Performance
Changes to Settings Recommended Capable of running the game, but will experience slowdown. Adjusting settings may improve performance.
[1000-1499] Low Performance
Changes to Settings Required Capable of running the game, but will experience considerable slowdown. Adjusting settings is unlikely to improve performance.
[Under 1000] Insufficient Performance
Does not meet specifications for running the game.
If you’re wondering how different kinds of systems perform with the benchmark, we’ve found this Google spreadsheet with lots of different benchmark scores. The table lists the scores by graphics card and is based on running max settings.
Final Fantasy XIV on the PlayStation 5
It was announced in February that Final Fantasy XIV will be coming to the PlayStation 5, with an open beta scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 13th, 2021. This is the same day as the 5.5 patch. It is already possible to play Final Fantasy XIV on a PS5 in backward compatibility mode with the PS4 version, however, this is an actual PS5 version.
This new version will take advantage of the new hardware. It will feature 4k visuals, a significantly improved frame rate, and take advantage of the PS5’s faster loading times. During the stream, a trailer was shown which contained a player teleporting from Limsa Lominsa to Camp Bronze Lake. This took around 2 seconds thanks to the PS5’s super-fast SSD.
The PS5 version will have two modes. One for players who want to play in 4k with improved visuals, whilst the second mode focuses on frame rate. Players will be able to go into the settings and change this freely. Further graphical updates will be made for the PS5 version in future patches. Players who have registered a license for the PS4 version will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free. No release date was given for the retail version of the PS5 version.