Final Fantasy 16‘s producer Naoki Yoshida has said that he would like to direct another major title for the series if the opportunity were offered to him.
Following almost 10 years of work on the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy 14, where he still currently acts as director and producer, Naoki Yoshida (AKA Yoshi-P) took the role of producer for 2023’s Final Fantasy 16. However, despite now having two Final Fantasy games under his belt, Yoshi-P confirms that he would still like to work on another major title for the series.
“It’s completely undecided as of now, but if the opportunity arises to work on the next major title, I would like to direct it myself!” Yoshida said in an interview with Famitsu, translated by Aitai Kimochi on X (formerly Twitter).
When asked if there would be one more title for Yoshida, the developer said “‘I probably can at least add one more title to my name.’ However, by doing so, I would be setting my own ceiling and limiting myself. This in turn will also cause those around you to work according to what you set.”
This echoes a similar statement Yoshi-P made back in January when he suggested that the future of the Final Fantasy series should be led by a newer team of developers instead of “the same old guys” after being asked if he would be directing the inevitable Final Fantasy 17.
“…If I were to fall into the trap of thinking ‘I can only do one more title’, then it might be marked as something odd, like ‘Yoshida’s masterpiece’, which isn’t a good look,” he continues. “For example, I’m in my 50s right now and still snowboarding, and the more I snowboard, the better I become. I honestly think I’m at my peak at the moment, no joke! I feel like I can still push even further, so in lieu of that, I haven’t set a cap for myself.”
Yoshi-P adds that he feels like “setting a cap” would make things “awfully boring”.
“We don’t know what the future holds, so why not challenge ourselves each time? I think that’s definitely a better way to look at it. I hope that I can take even greater leaps to the likes I have not ever imagined.”
In other news, Yoshida has confirmed that the PC port of Final Fantasy 16 is now in the “final stages of optimization” and that fans should expect its release in no more than a year.
For more, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best RPGs you can play right now, along with our picks for the best PS5 games.
