Final Fantasy Creator Glad He Decided Not to Retire

Back in 2021, Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi announced his plans to retire after working on the mobile RPG Fantasian. It seems that those plans have been scrapped, however, as the developer is now speaking out about his excitement to be working on a new unannounced title.

“I genuinely made Fantasian thinking it might be my retirement work, but yes, I’m taking it back,” he said in a new interview with Famitsu. “We’re starting to talk about a new project…that is, we’re making a new game. It’s almost the same team that worked on Fantasian, but I can’t tell you what we’re working on yet. 

One thing I can say is that game production is fun. It’s probably more of a pleasure than a job now.”

While it’s unclear what Sakaguchi is working on, his game studio Mistwalker recently filed a trademark for something titled Fantasian: Dark Edge.

An enhanced version of Fantasian, dubbed Fantasian Neo Dimension, will be released on PC and console this winter. First launched for Apple Arcade in 2021, many fans have been clamoring for the title to be released on more accessible platforms in the years since. The music for the game was composed by the legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.

“It may be that I’m getting older, but I’ve come to realise that it’s really nice to be part of a group of people,” Sakaguchi continued. “I’m excited to be able to develop with everyone again. Incidentally, on a personal note, I’m expecting a grandchild soon. I hope to be able to incorporate what I feel at that time into the new game.”