Final Fantasy 14 Is Apparently the World’s Most Played MMORPG

The biggest caveat before taking any of these numbers seriously is the source. Neither Blizzard nor Square Enix are particularly open about player numbers or subscriber counts these days. According to MMO Population, the numbers are extrapolated by using nebulous statistics like sentiment tracking and online social activiy.

"It's difficult to track hidden MMO subscriber numbers, but we do our best," says MMO Population's data page. " By combining online social activity, sentiment tracking, public statistics, rankings and more MMO Populations estimates the total subscribers, players and active daily players for the top MMOs."

This fact alone makes the numbers suspect. It is also worth noting that World of Warcraft's active player and total player counts have been separated into counts for World of Warcraft, and counts for World of Warcraft Classic. Combining the numbers for World of Warcraft as well as Classic puts it well beyond Final Fantasy 14's active player numbers by a considerable margin, using MMO Population's own tracking metrics. On the other hand, Final Fantasy 14's numbers also include those still playing on the game's generous free trial, which in itself boasts well over a few hundred hours of content.

Square Enix is somewhat more transparent about Final Fantasy 14's player numbers than World of Warcraft. While details like how many players are actively playing for a subscription aren't revealed, Square Enix does like to celebrate the registered user milestones. Blizzard, on the other hand, has largely stopped divulging any details about its player base. This is likely due to the sharp drop in subscriptions the game has suffered since its peak during 2008's Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

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