Final Fantasy founder is writing a new game, but he’s still playing too much Final Fantasy 14

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Hironobu Sakaguchi's commitment to the grind is unreal

Final Fantasy's Sakaguchi takes the stage at Final Fantasy Fan Fest
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy father Hironobu Sakaguchi is working on a new game, but as per usual, he's playing way too much Final Fantasy 14 to give a concrete update on the new project.

The latest issue of Famitsu magazine polled Japanese game industry workers on their hopes and ambitions for 2024. As reported in the tweet below, Sakaguchi is writing a brand new game, after figuring out the overarching plot of the title, but he's still playing too much Final Fantasy 14 each and every day.

This is nothing new for Hironobu Sakaguchi. He's been playing Square Enix's smash-hit MMO virtually every day since 2022, and at one point last year, he even revealed he's been told off before by his development partners for playing too much Final Fantasy 14, such is his commitment. 

The troubling thing is, Sakaguchi's commitment to Final Fantasy 14 is probably only going to get worse as 2024 rolls on. We're expecting Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.5's second act this month, before the Dawntrail expansion arrives at some point later this year in summer. 

If Endwalker was anything to go by, that's another few hundred hours of stuff for Sakaguchi, and millions more players around the world, to sink their time into. Perhaps the folk working with Sakaguchi on his mysterious new game might be having another word with him later this year.

This new project could well be Sakaguchi's final game before he retires. The veteran developer made comments last year that he was considering hanging up his tools after this new project, and if development really does drag out due to Sakaguchi's MMO-shaped commitments, that really could be the case.

Check out our new games 2024 guide for a look at what to play in the coming months aside from Final Fantasy 14 and other MMOs.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

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.