It has been announced that the Xbox version will use a new currency for purchasing items and subscriptions.
vgc,com wrote:...as revealed on the game’s official website, the Xbox version will include its own currency called FFXIV Coins, which players will have to buy with real money to make purchases on the Final Fantasy 14 Online Store and the Mog Station.
The Online Store is used for buying various items for use in the game, such as costumes, mounts, emotes, weapons, minions and furniture.
The Mog Station, meanwhile, is used to upgrade to the full version of the game, add game time to the player’s subscription and buying other services.
According to Square Enix, players who only play the Xbox Series X/S version of the game will have to buy FFXIV Coins and use these on the Online Store and Mog Station. Players who use their account on multiple platforms, however, can make purchases on the website using real money as usual and they will be carried over to the Xbox version.
The new currency will likely have been added to allow Microsoft to take a percentage from microtransactions and subscriptions, but only for players exclusively playing the game on Xbox consoles.
Source:
Video Games ChronicleThis seems a little odd. The PC and PlayStation versions allow items and subscriptions to be purchased directly from Square Enix's FF XIV website. It is perhaps surprising that Sony agreed to this, but maybe this was in return for exclusivity. It appears that Microsoft has insisted that transactions be undertaken via the Xbox Store rather than through an external website; presumably as they will take a cut of all purchases made, depending upon the agreements that have been made.
The benefit for PlayStation gamers is that pricing of items and subscriptions is the same as the PC version; and that a PS Plus subscription is not required to play. Xbox players will perhaps wonder if pricing will be the same through the Xbox Store; and a Game Pass (Core) subscription is needed to play.