With rolling blackouts and public transportation restrictions across eastern Japan following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that rocked the country, Square Enix has announced they will be delaying the content update and server merges planned for mid-April. Though no official date has been released yet as to when the update will take place, it is currently slated for some time in May.

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From the Final Fantasy XI Forums:

Rolling blackouts and restrictions on public transportation have been implemented across eastern Japan as part of the earthquake and tsunami disaster relief effort. Consequently, we have chosen to delay the upcoming major version update initially planned for mid-April.

While the new release date has been provisionally revised to May, we are unable to provide a detailed schedule at this point in time. The previously announced world merger will likewise be postponed.

We would like to express our apologies to our players, and will do our utmost to keep you abreast of the latest developments. Thank you for your continued understanding in this difficult time.

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Sincerely,

The FINAL FANTASY XI Team