Final Fantasy XIV fans are incredibly passionate about the MMO, but no one loves it more than producer Naoki Yoshida. After bringing the game back from the brink of death in 2013, Yoshida has continued to improve it to levels no one could have anticipated, eventually making it so popular that sales had to be halted due to it being too popular and driving the servers to max capacity.
Patch 6.1 was released earlier this month. Titled “Newfound Adventure,” the update marks a new beginning for players, as the dev team looks toward the future. The recent release of Endwalker marked the end of the story arc that started back in 2013 with A Realm Reborn. This week, Yoshida sat down with PlayStation to discuss the future of Final Fantasy XIV, starting with the importance of 6.1.
“Do be sure to see how things kick off in Patch 6.1’s story,” Yoshida said. “I believe that the key to continuing these stories is whether or not they’ll excite us as developers. If our motivation erodes away, there’s no doubt that it will extend to our players. To prevent this from happening, we always place paramount importance on ensuring it’s engaging and fun for us to create (new stories and content) from our perspective as developers.
Recently, Yoshida announced that he would be making changes to XIV in order to make the game more attractive to those who may not enjoy MMOs.
“My concept is to make the most of FFXIV’s characteristics as a story-driven MMORPG, and make it so that only the story can be played through on a solo basis. What I want to do is lower the barrier for entry among those who feel intimidated by MMORPGs or who are not good at multiplayer games.”
Yoshida did note, however, that he would be happy if players also “discover the fun of multiplayer and MMORPGs, leading them to try out various types of content.”
Check out the full Q&A at the official PlayStation blog.
Earlier this week, Yoshida asked players engaging in PvP content to play by the rules, further discouraging those who are keen on showing unsportsmanlike conduct.
Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
