Naoki Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 16, has stated that it may be time for a younger generation to take over the franchise and direct Final Fantasy 17.
In an interview with Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida stated that publisher Square Enix hasn’t made any decisions regarding the next mainline game’s director, but did indicate it won’t be him.
“For the moment, I’ll just say that nothing has been decided yet,” Yoshida said at the time. “Having said that, if I had to say anything about it… I’ve had the opportunity to work on two of these – Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16 – so perhaps it’s time for someone new. Rather than having the same old people handle the next one.
Maybe it’s time for someone new instead of having the same old guys handle the next one.
“I think in some ways it would be good to look to the future and bring in a younger generation, with more youthful sensibilities, to make a new Final Fantasy with challenges that suit today’s world.”
Bringing in new people to overcome what has come before appears to be essential to Final Fantasy as well, as Yoshida stated that the series is “all about challenging what has been done before.” He went on to say: “While I’m certainly not looking to pick a fight with the older games, we all make Final Fantasy games thinking, ‘Mine will be the most fun.'”
Final Fantasy 16 was released in 2023 on PlayStation 5 and included the franchise’s signature huge swords, big monsters, and long hair in a dark and dramatic Western fantasy setting (that appeared to be inspired by Game of Thrones).
Square Enix is unlikely to discuss Final Fantasy 17 for years, but it is keeping busy on spin-offs like Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, which will be released in February 2024. Meanwhile, additional story-based DLC for Final Fantasy 16 is in the works, as is a PC edition.
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