Square Enix
Square Enix is suspending the sales and delivery of Final Fantasy XIV Starter Edition and Complete Edition for reasons that might be unusual. The company can't keep up with the demand for the game, with players finding themselves waiting for hours to get into a server and play the game. This decision covers both the physical and digital versions of the game and will be enforced in the coming weeks. It's a gradual process since they need to coordinate with retail partners, both the physical and digital stores.
In announcing this move, Square Enix said it needed to suspend the sales because the "dense concentration of play hours... far exceed [its] server capacity, especially during the peak times." The developer didn't add more Worlds or servers before Endwalker's release to accommodate all players.
FFXIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida apologized for the ongoing issue in early December. They offered seven days of free game time to all players who have the full version of the game and have an active subscription. Now, he said Square Enix is giving those players an extra 14 days.
On top of halting sales, Square Enix plans to prioritize logins of users with active subscriptions moving forward. It won't accept free trial subscriptions, and current free trial players won't be able to log in outside of late night and early morning hours.
Source: Engadget