LONDON, January 26, 2006 – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, announced today that Treasures of Aht UrhganTM the third expansion pack for Final Fantasy® XI, a successful massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) will receive a simultaneous release in Europe and Japan on Thursday, April 20th, 2006, following North American shipment on April 18th.
Square Enix also announced it will release Final Fantasy XI for Xbox 360TM video game and entertainment system from Microsoft on April 20th in Europe and Japan.
Final Fantasy XI was originally released on May 2002 in Japan with the two expansion packs Rise of the Zilart® and Chains of PromathiaTM following in recent years. In October 2003 the title was released in North America and the European release followed in September 2004. Now more than 500,000 subscribers are enjoying Vana'diel®, the world of Final Fantasy XI. With the release of the third expansion pack and Xbox 360 version, the world of Vana'diel will be an even livelier place to visit, expanding the community even further.
Main features of the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion:
- Players will uncover the tales and legends surrounding the Aht Urhgan Empire.
- New jobs including the highly requested Blue Mage and Corsair have been added to expand battle strategies even further.
- Along with additional areas to explore, powerful monsters have also been added including the Mamool Ja, a powerful tribe of the beastmen that hold dominion over the Mamool Ja Savagelands, a land hostile to the Near Eastern Aht Urhgan Empire.
- Keeping with the Final Fantasy XI principles, system enhancements in addition to those listed have been implemented to enrich gameplay in a variety of ways.
- On Xbox 360 gamers will be able to see and hear the world of Vana'diel like never before in high definition video.
- Join a community of over 500,000 with players from around the world and on several platforms.
Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urhgan for Windows® will be released on April 20th 2006. Price: to be announced. As an expansion pack players will need to own an original version of Final Fantasy XI for Windows, sold separately.
Final Fantasy XI for Xbox 360 will be released on the same day as the Windows version. The package includes PlayOnline®, Final Fantasy XI, as well as the three expansion packs – Rise of the Zilart, Chain of Promathia and Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Price: to be announced. With this version players can join PlayOnline and enjoy all the contents within Final Fantasy XI. PlayOnline also allows players to enjoy free communication tools such as email and Friend Lists, while also providing a large quantity of exclusive content to read.
Final Fantasy XI subscribers will receive their first 30 days of access without charge. Aside from Internet service provider access charges, the free trial period will begin on the date players create their first "Content ID" or character. Any additional Content IDs purchased are also available without charge until the end of the free trial period. After 30 days, players can continue to play Final Fantasy XI by paying a monthly fee of $12.95 (USD) for one Final Fantasy XI character, and can create up to 15 additional characters for an additional charge of $1.00 (USD) per character, per month. Payment for monthly access charges must be made by credit card only (restrictions apply).