Final Fantasy 14 is getting an open beta on Xbox Series X/S later this month, but is not available to pre-existing players with FF14 accounts

Final Fantasy 14 is finally coming to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Starting February 21, an open beta will become available for interested parties of would-be adventurers, that'll be totally free to download and play without the need for a subscription. The catch? If you already have a Final Fantasy 14 account, you'll be locked out from this fresh-start release.

The news was released this morning, via a post on the Final Fantasy 14 website. In the post, Square Enix explains the process you'll need to follow in order to access the beta once it launches, as well as elaborating on what manner of subscription you'll need to play. For the open beta - that figure is absolutely nothing.

The article explains: "The Free Trial version, including the open beta test, will not require an Xbox Game Pass (Core or Ultimate) plan to play. However, the full Xbox Series X|S version will require an Xbox Game Pass (Core or Ultimate) plan to play." So, no cost of entry for those curious about this much-praised MMO.

However, there's another catch. Those who already have a free trial account on another platform - be it PC or PlayStation - will not be able to participate in this Xbox Open Beta. The blog post emphasises this with clear red writing: "We ask any players, who wish to play FINAL FANTASY XIV on Xbox with an existing Square Enix account and its associated characters, to please wait until the full Xbox launch after the open beta test concludes."

For those of you who haven't tried out Final Fantasy 14, I cannot emphasize its merits enough. It is an exceptional video game, and a chance to play a chunk of it alongside a wave of likeminded new players is a rare opportunity. If you've even a slight tinge of intrigue around the game, give it a go later this month.