Saikouisen Nihon Pro Mahjong, Japan’s oldest organization dedicated to professional Mahjong, announced that it has signed a sponsorship deal with Final Fantasy XIV.
The announcement comes with the announcement that seven companies have signed sponsorship deals in favor of the organization for its 51st year of operation, and among these is Square Enix, with its beloved MMORPG.
This is not surprising nor random, as Final Fantasy XIV includes a fully playable Mahjong simulation in its Gold Saucer casino, named Doman Mahjong. It’s playable both against the computer and against other players.
Introduced in update 4.5 all the way back in 2019, it’s technically considered a minigame, but considering its complexity and full feature set, you could easily consider it a full game within the game, and it has a dedicated fanbase with official and unofficial tournaments.
The sponsorship in favor of the Saikouisen Nihon Pro Mahjong is obviously a direct consequence of the inclusion of the game in Final Fantasy XIV, and it’ll be interesting to see whether it’ll influence Doman Mahjong in any way, perhaps with the involvement of the organization in the dedicated esports scene.
Perhaps we’ll learn more with the next Letter from the Producer Live livestream, which will be aired on Friday, March 13, 2026, at 4:00 a.m. PDT.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S. It recently received update 7.4 and its follow-up patches.
The community is preparing for the reveal of the next expansion, which will happen with the upcoming fan festivals in the United States, Europe, and Japan later this year.
