Final Fantasy 16's producer thinks the series is "currently struggling" to keep up with the times

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Naoki Yoshida sounds off on Final Fantasy's strengths - and weaknesses

Final Fantasy 16 PS5 screenshot
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16’s producer believes the series at large is “currently struggling.”

Speaking to Inverse earlier this week, longtime Final Fantasy 14 creative steward Naoki Yoshida revealed his thoughts on where the historic series is currently. “In terms of whether Final Fantasy is successfully adapting to industry trends, I believe the series is currently struggling,” Yoshida said.

“We’re at a point now where we receive a wide variety of requests regarding the direction of our game design,” the creative director continued. “It’d be impossible to satisfy all those requests with a single title. My current impression is that all we can really do is create multiple games, and continue creating the best that we can at any given time.”

Yoshida then goes on to state that Final Fantasy has never been about chasing trends, but about setting them. Yoshida believes it’s Final Fantasy 14 that’s currently meeting this goal, especially when looking at the way it tells its story, whether it’s via the base game in A Realm Reborn, or post-game expansions like Heavensward and Endwalker.

As for the future of Final Fantasy 14, there’s still big things on the horizon for the MMO, with patch 6.2 slated to launch next week on August 23. This update will debut the Island Sanctuary feature, an incredibly anticipated aspect among fans that lets players construct their own island, complete with roaming minions and crops to grow. 

Meanwhile, a demo for Final Fantasy 16 could well launch next year. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.