Final Fantasy XI chocobo breeding finally on the way

Next version update will have players raising and breeding everyone's favorite fictional birds

June 5, 2006

Chocobo breeding is ready for FFXI, Square Enix announced at the Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival 2006 in Santa Monica. The next version update of the game will feature the new system which allows players to breed and raise Chocobos, the fictional species of bird that has appeared in nearly every Final Fantasy game to date.

The developers call the chocobo breeding an "upgraded version of gardening". Like growing plants in the game's Mog House, raising a chocobo requires tending to the animal for a brief amount of time every day. A chocobo takes 1-3 months to become full-grown, they say.

Not all chocobos are made the same. Each chocobo egg will contain "genetic" information that will determine how the chocobo will grow. The birds will vary in color and in type, and new eggs and mixes can be created when your chocobo meets and gets along with others in the game.

You'll be able to name your chocobo also, but the name must be chosen from a list, like with the pets associated with the Dragoon and Puppetmaster jobs. The development team says, though, that the Chocobos will have more name choices.

The next update is expected sometime in June, although no exact release date has been announced.