Final Fantasy 14 And World Of Warcraft Fist Bump Over Shadowlands Launch
MMORPG gamers witnessed a heartwarming moment yesterday when Final Fantasy 14 and World of Warcraft celebrated the launch of the latter's newest DLC, Shadowlands. The official Final Fantasy 14 twitter account congratulated Blizzard on the release of Shadowlands, writing, "Welcome to the Shadows." Blizzard responded with a virtual fist bump, complete with emojis.
As Square Enix and Blizzard both own popular competitive MMORPGs, this virtual congratulations surprised some fans and inspired them to send their own well wishes to Blizzard. World of Warcraft players have waited patiently for Shadowlands, which experienced delays in order to fine tune some of the game's bigger features, making its release even more exciting. While Square Enix is Blizzard's biggest rival in the MMORPG market, the fact remains that they're also a company that has experienced disappointments over the years and worked hard to satisfy fans with new content and tie-ins. Seeing Blizzard and Square Enix unite and acknowledge each other's successes warms the cockles of every gamer heart.
Okay, not every gamer heart. Some World of Warcraft fans expressed disappointment over server issues at launch. According to GameRant, players experienced massive delays when trying to log on to servers and play Shadowlands. Even the menu to swap servers had a long wait time, with many getting kicked off while attempting to join. While similar delays and server issues occur on almost every launch day, fans feel understandably frustrated when they're unable to play the latest and greatest expansions. Some players also encountered issues with, well, living long enough to play the game. With some players dying from the Scourge during the introductory cutscenes, the irritation felt palpable from some fans.
Shadowlands ties World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 together thematically by focusing on a dark, moody world. Final Fantasy 14's 2019 DLC Shadowbringers features a similar title to Shadowlands, even though it's not technically similar in plot. The titular bond between these two franchises allowed for some playful poking at Blizzard by insinuating that unlike World of Warcraft, which is only just entering the shadowy realm, Final Fantasy 14 has already been thriving in the shadows for an entire year. This is exactly the type of playful banter that makes PR-driven accounts on Twitter popular with gamers, allowing them to get the news on their favorite games with a side of snark.
For now, Square Enix and Blizzard are content to celebrate Blizzard's release together, but some Twitter users have already dreamed up potential crossovers for the two MMORPG giants. Whether or not a crossover ever materializes, there's still plenty to be excited about from these two publishers, including a strangely named TV series about Final Fantasy 14 and, of course, Blizzard's new DLC.