With a player count that reaches into the millions, FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (FFXIV) is one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved MMORPGs in the world. So when it comes to bringing together the community IRL, the team at Square Enix has their work cut out.
The 2023–24 Fan Festival is the fifth major event of its kind for FFXIV and is set to be bigger and better than ever. We caught up with executive director of publishing strategy Simon Wells ahead of the London event in October to talk about how working with Eventbrite has enabled Square Enix to power up their offer.
Available on PlayStation, PC and Mac platforms, and soon to launch on Xbox Series X|S, FFXIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In other words, all the action takes place in a perpetually updated digital environment.
“We’re very much driven by the community that plays the game,” says Simon, “and the primary driver behind the event is our desire to connect with players outside of the virtual space.”
Just as they are committed to providing the best possible gaming experience, the team’s No. 1 goal for the FFXIV Fan Festival is to provide an excellent attendee experience — from the ease of finding and buying tickets to entering and navigating the venue on the day.
Looking for a ticketing platform that shares your ambitions? Simon tells us the top-five benefits of partnering with Eventbrite:
1. No-stress event setup
With the pandemic shifting the event to a digital platform for a few years, Simon returned to the Eventbrite platform to find it even more user-friendly than he remembered.
“However, we still needed some help and hand-holding as we went through the setup,” says Simon. “I want to make sure I’m not going to make any errors in the setup, and that our customers have all the information they need to make the purchase. Thankfully, the support from Eventbrite has been amazing.”
But Simon says it’s not simply a case of set and forget: “It’s so important we get the right level of support from our ticketing platform, and every time we host an event, we do thorough due diligence — looking at our competitors, reviewing what we might be able to do internally and assessing whether we can achieve everything we want to via the platform.”
Top tip: Creating an event couldn’t be easier with Eventbrite’s helpful online resources, which guide you through everything from setting up a listing to editing ticket types and customising your order confirmation.
2. A platform that prioritises user experience
Following London’s 2014 event, the FFXIV Fan Festival travelled to locations across Europe, including Paris and Frankfurt, and is now set to return to London — albeit in a different venue.
“We’re very grateful that our community has grown alongside the game,” says Simon, who explains that attendee numbers have increased hugely in the past 10 years, prompting a move to London’s largest event venue, ExCeL, in the Docklands area.
“It’s going to be the biggest and best event we’ve done so far and we’re looking forward to seeing all our players again in person,” says Simon.
The fans clearly feel the same — general release tickets sold out incredibly quickly. “With such a high volume of visitors, there’s the risk of websites not working properly and a poor user experience,” says Simon. “Eventbrite manages the scale of traffic, which is really important for us to ensure a stable service for the players to purchase tickets. Again, it all comes back to offering great customer service.”
3. On-site entry made simple
Having downloaded their tickets, the next step is to get attendees through the doors on the day. For this, the team are armed with scanners to enable a steady flow of people to register and gain access to the venue.
“We need people to enter in a timely fashion; otherwise, we run the risk of the whole schedule being delayed,” says Simon. ”The scanners support fast entry into the venue, ensuring a positive experience for our event attendees.”
Top tip: From check-in to last call, the Eventbrite Organiser app enables teams to admit attendees with a scan, track up-to-the-minute attendance and accept secure payment for event tickets and merchandise on-site. While in the lead-up to an event, it gives creators instant access to all the information they need to monitor real-time ticket sales.
4. Easy-to-access analytics
For the developers working on FFXIV, the event represents an incredible opportunity to connect with the community directly. And because understanding your audience is an essential part of attracting attendees, the behind-the-scenes team rely on the insights they receive via their event dashboard.
“The reporting side is very useful,” says Simon. “We like to use the analytics tools to understand who our customers are and which country they’re purchasing tickets from. This way we can manage other programmes and interactions with them.”
5. Custom ticket types
Having promoted the event via email marketing and social channels including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, as well as the official community site ‘The Lodestone’, a presale period of around a week allows the team to release a set amount of tickets.
“This was really easy to set up via Eventbrite by uploading codes we could then share with those active fans who were lucky enough to win a code through a raffle we ran,” says Simon. “Then we had a few days to reorganise ourselves and put the remaining tickets on general sale.”
And while Simon says they would love to host more attendees, they do have to limit the number of general admission tickets for sale — something that’s easy to do via the platform, where it’s also possible to create group ticket types (like media and partner tickets).
This flexibility enables creators to offer the best possible customer service, which Simon says is an important element of Fan Festival’s partnership with Eventbrite.
“My advice to other organisers?” says Simon. “Definitely lean into the support teams at Eventbrite. They’re incredibly knowledgeable about the platform and will help take you through the setup for your event. It’s been invaluable and no doubt will be again when we come to host our next event.”
