16.4 GB
The MMO that still expects you to make friends before you make progress.
Last updated
Final Fantasy XI is a free mmo game released under Free to play. It runs on Windows, needs about 16.4 GB of disk space, and requires no account, payment or trial. On a computer, the fastest route is the PlayBound Launcher. On a phone or tablet, use the official store or site instead.
One-click install
PlayBound fetches the official release — no third-party mirrors.
Windows
Register a free account at horizonxi.com and verify your email. Nothing else needs buying — no retail copy, no Square Enix account, no subscription.
Windows
Install the HorizonXI edition through PlayBound. It fetches the official 176 MB launcher installer from the project's GitHub releases.
Windows
Run the launcher and choose an install location. It downloads the game client itself — keep 25 GB free while it works; the finished client is about 16 GB.
Windows
Create your character on the HorizonXI website, choosing a race and nation, then start the game from the launcher and sign in.
Windows
Set resolution and enable any approved add-ons from the launcher, then join a linkshell early — Horizon is balanced around group play and it is the fastest way in.
Recommended first-time setup and configuration steps when launching Final Fantasy XI.
Register a free HorizonXI account at https://horizonxi.com and verify your email before installing.
Install the HorizonXI edition through PlayBound. The launcher downloads the game client itself — keep 25 GB free while it runs.
Create your character on the HorizonXI website, then start the game from the launcher and sign in.
How to join and navigate multiplayer lobbies and servers in Final Fantasy XI.
Use a PlayBound Party for voice and presence — HorizonXI is one shared world, so there is no lobby to join.
Party in-game with /invite, and join a linkshell early. Horizon is single-box (one account per IP) and balanced around group play.
Two people on the same connection need an IP exception from the HorizonXI Discord before both can log in.
Minimum
Windows 7 64-bit · Dual-core 2 GHz CPU · 2 GB RAM · DirectX 9 GPU · 25 GB free during install
Recommended
Windows 10/11 · Quad-core CPU · 8 GB RAM · dedicated GPU · SSD (client settles at ~16 GB)
No. The HorizonXI launcher downloads a complete game client itself. You do not need a retail copy, a Square Enix account or a monthly subscription — the server is free. Square Enix's official live service is a separate, paid thing that PlayBound does not sell or host.
The level-75 cap era, permanently. It launched in December 2022 with Chains of Promathia content and has patched forward through Treasures of Aht Urhgan, matching a retail patch date of 17 April 2006. The premise is that the cap never rose, so later expansions get rebalanced into level-75 content rather than replacing it.
25 GB free during installation, settling at roughly 16 GB once the client finishes downloading. The launcher itself is a 176 MB installer.
Yes, natively and well — it shipped on PlayStation 2, so the entire interface was designed around a gamepad. The Windows client handles modern pads, and Steam's listing for the retail version confirms DualShock and DualSense support.
Horizon is a single-box server: one account per IP address and three characters on it. No dual-boxing. If two people in the same home want to play, you request an IP exception in the HorizonXI Discord, and it is worth filing well in advance.
The server publishes its own live count — typically in the high hundreds to low thousands concurrently. PlayBound reads that figure directly from HorizonXI rather than estimating it, so the number on this page is the server's own.
Deliberately little, under a policy it calls Era+. Movement speed 40, 1.0 experience and crafting rates, equipment scaling disabled, era-accurate drop rates and Treasure Hunter. Jobs get light adjustments intended to push each toward its own identity so all fifteen are viable. New experience camps exist but are undocumented on purpose. No Trusts, no home-point warps, a player-stocked auction house, and claim shields on prominent notorious monsters.
No. It is an unaffiliated volunteer project, and its own site says so. All Final Fantasy XI content and images remain Square Enix's. That also means it runs at a publisher's discretion, which is a risk worth knowing about before you invest months in a character.
Yes. Final Fantasy XI has multiplayer. Its multiplayer runs through the game's own online service or menus, so PlayBound Connect parties and PlayBound dedicated servers are not available for it. The game can run its own dedicated servers. There is no subscription and no paid multiplayer tier.