Five years since its initial announcement, the live-action TV series adaptation of Final Fantasy XIV is now officially dead. The project was a co-production between Hivemind and Sony Pictures Television.
In a report by PC Gamer, Hivemind co-founder Dinesh Shamdasani confirmed the unfortunate news via X/Twitter, citing the production’s supposed size and scope, worsened by the complications brought about by the previous pandemic.
Originally in response to an inquiry by X/Twitter user @KSatron concerning the project, Shamdasani simply stated, “Dead.” It is followed by a brief backstory surrounding the project’s demise, which boils down to it getting “rejected across the board” due to its sheer “size and scale”.
Adding to the sentiment, the program scriptwriter Jake Thornton said that it was “a real result of COVID-19, unfortunately.” Largely, referring to a time when studios were tightening their belts or in his statement, when “studios began to zip up their purse strings”.
Had the project pushed through, it would have been the first live adaptation of the highly acclaimed MMORPG, set in the rich world of Eorzea, featuring chocobos, airships, various races, as well as familiar Final Fantasy figures, like Cid.
