Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida has addressed whether he'll direct another game following the massive MMO, and it sounds like he's keen to.
In a new interview in Famitsu, Wright Flyer Studios head Shota Shimoda asked Yoshida whether he's planning to direct any games besides Final Fantasy 14. Yoshida has been directing Final Fantasy 14 for over a decade now, and despite being at the forefront of 2023's Final Fantasy 16, he didn't direct the most recent entry in the RPG series.
Yoshida answered plainly, saying that, while it's completely undecided right now, if the chance came about to work on another large-scale project, he'd like to direct it himself. Shimoda is intrigued by this, and asks Yoshida how the timing for this project could potentially come about, given that Yoshida's into the twilight of his career at over 50 years old.
The Final Fantasy 14 director says he's considered directing one more game before passing the baton on to the next generation of game developers. However, Yoshida says this mindset would actually trap and somewhat limit him, effectively providing him with a ceiling that he couldn't exceed.
Yoshida then says company employees, such as developers, follow the thinking of their higher-ups. If Yoshida were to direct one last game, he would be in this position, and so those underneath him would regard the project as "Yoshida's masterpiece" or something similar, which wouldn't be a good look.
The Final Fantasy 14 lead then turns to a snowboarding metaphor. Despite being in his 50s, Yoshida still loves snowboarding and feels like he gets better at the sport every time he snowboards. He's sort of taking this attitude with game development - he wants to keep improving his own craft because he feels like he's capable of more.
Final Fantasy 14 is speeding towards Dawntrail, the MMO's next major expansion, which is set to launch later this year in summer. You can read our very own new Final Fantasy 14 interview with Yoshida for comments on how the last 10 years of the MMO will inform the next decade.
Final Fantasy 14's next 14-hour livestream is set to take place next month on April 12, and it'll feature game leads like Yoshida.
