Square Enix reopens digital purchases of Final Fantasy XIV

Following a prolonged period of overloaded server issues that left the game unplayable for many, Square Enix has resumed (via Joystiq) selling digital copies of relaunched massively multiplayer online game Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn.

Square Enix stopped selling digital versions of the game shortly after launch, offering seven days of free play time to those affected. Sony fully refunded players who purchased the game digitally on the PlayStation Store.

Game director Naoki Yoshida explained the game's server woes earlier this month. "The night following the announcement of our plans to temporarily limit sales of the download version, A Realm Reborn recorded upwards of 218,000 concurrent connections," he said at the time. "This is in spite of the fact that the peak login times for separate regions around the world arrive at differing intervals. We estimate that without time zone differences, the total number of concurrent connections would number anywhere from 300,000 to 350,000."

Reopening digital purchases suggests that Square Enix is having some success managing the game's servers.

Square Enix has said that customers who purchase the game will be able to upgrade to the PlayStation 4 version for free when it launches in 2014.