Yoshi-P Reaffirms He’s Still Working on Both Final Fantasy XIV and XVI

In an interview with Famitsu, Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida, or Yoshi-P, sat down to discuss the development of Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers. In the interview Yoshi-P confirmed that he is still working hard on Final Fantasy XIV alongside the development of Final Fantasy XVI. While the interview went into depth about the creative decisions made for the “Save the Queen” Relic Weapon Questline, it ended with Yoshi-P reassuring readers that he is still deeply involved in both projects. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

As mentioned previously, Yoshi-P shared details regarding the creative decisions made for both “Save the Queen” and for Shadowbringers. This includes how the narrative of each storyline was impacted, and the reason Fordola was kept alive after Stormblood.

Yoshi-P also revealed that he had spoken to Yasumi Matsuno about it. Originally, he was worried, but felt that the outcome was realistic. He referenced the concept of “otoshimae” in the interview as a parallel to Fordola, and that the reason the team kept her alive is based on this concept of atonement.

Regarding the development of Final Fantasy XVI alongside the on-going work put into Final Fantasy XIV, Yoshi-P said this:

This is not the end of Final Fantasy XIV, and I hope players will look forward to future development… Recently, I have seen some comments on social media saying “Yoshi-P is too busy working on Final Fantasy XVI, and is hands-off with Final Fantasy XIV.” This is absolutely not the case. I still working very hard on it, so I hope you’ll stick with me.

He went on to say:

Mistakes can, and will, happen during development. Sometimes I see posts saying “This [bug] has happened because Yoshi-P hasn’t seen it!” Even I make mistakes, I’m sorry! But we’ll continue to do our best.

Final Fantasy XIV is immediately available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker will release on November 23, 2024. Those who have pre-ordered the expansion will have access on November 19, 2024. Final Fantasy XVI doesn’t have a release date yet.