According to a revised roster of executive staff, it has become apparent that Naoki Yoshida, who oversees both ‘Final Fantasy 14‘ and ‘Final Fantasy 16’, is no longer on Square Enix’s board of directors. Although Yoshida remains listed as an executive on some Square Enix webpages, his stepping down from the board of directors has not yet been fully reflected across all pages, a detail observed by Automaton Media.
Initially, Yoshida joined Square Enix in 2005. He was later promoted to executive officer within the company in 2015, following the triumph of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Since then, he has served as producer for the MMORPG and more recently, for Final Fantasy 16 as well.
As a devoted fan, I’ve noticed that there hasn’t been an official announcement from Square Enix about Yoshida stepping down from the board of directors. However, his recent interview with Dutch publication NRC seems to suggest that this decision might have come partly from him. In his own words during the 2023 interview (translated by Dot Esports), he expressed, “I don’t find being on the board enjoyable; it’s much more fun for me to focus on creating games.
I haven’t heard Yoshida speak on his stepping down from the board of directors just yet, but it seems he’ll keep spearheading Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit 3 in his role as producer. As a fan, I can’t wait to see what amazing projects he has in store for us!
The popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy 14, continues to thrive for Square Enix. Last year, it introduced its latest expansion, called Dawntrail. Notably, this expansion attracted a significant increase in players for the game. In fact, Yoshida himself revealed that since the launch of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn in 2013, it has seen the highest number of simultaneous players across all platforms.
Yoshida is well-known in the annals of Final Fantasy due to his pivotal role as the team leader who managed to transform Final Fantasy 14 from its initial unsuccessful launch into a respected MMORPG with A Realm Reborn. Following this, the game has experienced multiple expansions, with Heavensward and Shadowbringers receiving particular acclaim from critics for their engaging narratives.
Contrastingly, although Final Fantasy 16 was met with critical praise, it underperformed in sales during its initial PS5-exclusive launch, causing some dissatisfaction at Square Enix. Subsequently, the game became available on PC as well. Moreover, Square Enix’s future titles are now expected to be released across multiple platforms, as stated by Yoshida himself.
Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, expressed similar thoughts back in December. He stated that although Square Enix was content with the sales of the game, it’s evident that they cannot limit its availability to just one platform.
“I think we need to offer the game to as many players as possible,” he said.
According to its latest financial report, Square Enix has seen an uptick in operating profits. One of the games contributing to this income boost is “Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D”, which hit various platforms like PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch in November 2024. For a deeper dive into this game, be sure to read our review for additional insights.
Read More
- How to watch A Complete Unknown – is it streaming?
- USD VES PREDICTION
- INJ PREDICTION. INJ cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- IP PREDICTION. IP cryptocurrency
- CAKE PREDICTION. CAKE cryptocurrency
- EUR HUF PREDICTION
- EUR PKR PREDICTION
- JTO PREDICTION. JTO cryptocurrency
- USD MXN PREDICTION
2025-03-03 18:41