Although Final Fantasy XI has long been projected for a March release in Japan, Square's first MMORPG will now debut on April 27, for 6800 yen (approximately $51.00 US). The PlayOnline and FF XI servers are available free of charge for the first two months, after which a 500 yen per month (roughly $4.00 US per month) accessing fee will be implemented. Square currently plans to host other online titles on its PlayOnline server, and Enix and Namco can also host their software per a recent partnership with Square.

While there is no official word on when exactly Final Fantasy XI is North America-bound, beta testing for the game can be previewed via a live, Internet stream (as recently reported). FF XI is currently in its third month of beta testing, and Square has already voiced its hope to release the game on multiple platforms such as the GameCube and Xbox, though nothing has been made official.