Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI (ファイナルファンタジーXI Fainaru Fantajī Irebun), also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square (later Square Enix) as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002. The PC version was released in North America on October 28, 2003, and the PlayStation 2 version on March 23, 2004. In Europe, only the Windows version was released, on September 17, 2004. An Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in April 2006 for all regions, as the system's first MMORPG and the first cross-platform MMORPG. All versions require a monthly subscription to the game and the Xbox 360 version does not require an Xbox Live Gold account to play.
The story is set in the fantasy world of Vana'diel, where player-created avatars can both compete and cooperate in a variety of objectives to develop an assortment of jobs, skills, and in-game item rewards. Players can also undertake an array of quests and progress through the in-game hierarchy and thus though the major plot of the game. Since its debut in 2002, four expansion packs have also been released, adding numerous areas, quests, and item rewards to the Final Fantasy XI world.
As of 2006, between 200,000 and 300,000 active players logged in per day, and the game was the dominant MMORPG in Japan. As of 2008, in an announcement for three additional expansions in development, SE noted Final Fantasy XI still has a strong user base of around 500,000 subscribers. In April 2009, Square Enix announced that the total number of active characters exceeded 2 million for the first time.