How a data centre united Australia's gaming community

Before the Oceania data centre arrived, Australian gamers faced challenges while playing the online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV. In-game, they struggled to find enough fellow English speakers on the Asia server to tackle super-bosses, and the Golden Saucer amusement park was sparsely populated during certain hours. Those on the distant Europe server experienced input lag, causing gameplay actions to be delayed, leading to failed quests and disappointed teammates.

This changed in January 2022, when developer Square Enix launched Oceania servers. This decision united players in the region, who were amazed by the scale of the local player base. Lin, a community organiser from Melbourne, recalls the shock of seeing thousands of people on the server, with queues lasting up to 30 minutes. Pat, another community organiser, mentions that while the community is tight-knit, coming together for events is difficult.

This year's Final Fantasy XIV community meet-up at PAX Australia was standing room only. The community has grown annually, but the arrival of the Oceania server brought a special draw, as two popular Final Fantasy developers attended the event. Australia's influence on the series dates back to the early 1990s when Square Enix's localisation team, founded by Australian translator Richard Honeywood, began producing English-language releases.

The team's efforts have remained loud and clear at international fan festivals, with Australian fans attending events in America, Europe, and even Japan. Now, the focus is on giving back to the community by increasing the frequency of events in Australia.