In a recent announcement, Square revealed its plans to offer some of its PlayOnline services free of charge. The free services include email, chat, and other such utilities. This does not, however, cover for game play; patrons who wish to play Final Fantasy XI or the Tetra Master card game online will be required to pay a fee. The service will be ready for launch in Japan this spring.

PlayOnline has been in development for over two years, and Square currently plans to host several online titles on the service. Enix and Namco also developed a partnership with Square allowing the companies to host online games on PlayOnline. The services will likely be available in North America in late 2002.