Naoki Yoshida, the head honcho of the Final Fantasy series had some ominous words for players of the series. Could he be leaving the mainline franchise?
Final Fantasy is one of, if not the biggest game franchise in the world with over 120 games in the complete – not just mainline – series. To say it's a big deal would be an understatement. One of the biggest names and part of the franchise is none other than Naoki Yoshida aka Yoshi-P who has led the production on multiple successful games, including Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16.
However, he recently dropped some hints at a changing of the guard, at least for future Final Fantasy games.
"Maybe It's Time For Younger Talent To Take Over The Series" – Yoshi-P Talks About Future Of Final Fantasy Series
Yoshida was the main producer of the most last year's Final Fantasy 16, which was one of the biggest releases in 2023. He is also a key part in the development of FF14, which is the series' MMORPG and probably the most popular title currently, with an estimation of almost 50 million players.
In a recent interview he looked ahead at the future of Final Fantasy, and he explained that while he did have the chance to work on FF16 and continues to work on FF14, he does feel that for future games of the series, someone new should take the reins to bring in fresh blood and ideas to the series.
[...] maybe it's time for someone new, instead of having the same old guys handle the next one [...] I think in some ways it would be good to look to the future and bring in a younger generation, with more youthful sensibilities, to make a new FF with challenges that suit today's world.
While this does hint at him stepping back from new mainline games, this has nothing to do with his involvement in FF14 and the story there. In another interview with Famitsu, Yoshi-P has stated that he's still got ideas for at least 2 or 3 more expansions, wanting to work on the MMO until he is at least 60, which would mean another decade.