With the expansion “Dawntrail,” Final Fantasy XIV received intense criticism again. Producer Naoki Yoshida reveals to us in the interview for the Grindfest theme week 2026 how they want to engage players again with Evercold – and that this comes with a big risk.
What was the problem with Dawntrail? After the release of Dawntrail, Final Fantasy XIV received a lot of criticism for its story. Many players were annoyed that their own character takes a backseat and the storyline mainly follows the new main character Wuk Lamat. The slow pacing of the narrative and lack of highlights were also criticized. Some quest designs and the increasing homogenization of classes (jobs) were also not well received.
Comparisons to the rather moderately successful expansion Stormblood were quickly made, as there the player character also primarily served a supporting role. After the widely praised expansions Shadowbringers and Endwalker, expectations were particularly high, which is why the quieter start of Dawntrail caused disappointment.
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What is changing now? With “Evercold,” the next expansion for Final Fantasy XIV will be released in January 2027, offering the opportunity for a fresh start and a return to old strengths. Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida tells us in an interview how Evercold wants to captivate players again – and that this endeavor carries risks. Additionally, we were naturally also interested in what challenges the team needs to face after over a decade of development.
Evercold as the beginning of a series of extensive evolutions – “8.0 is just the start”
MeinMMO: After the monumental effort that A Realm Reborn was, we felt for years that FFXIV became better, more popular, and more successful with every update and expansion – with the highlights of this development being Shadowbringers and Endwalker. However, with Dawntrail, this upward momentum has lost speed. Our impression is that, for the first time, there was broad and lasting criticism of the game. With Evercold, the opportunity for a fresh start and a return to former glory is coming soon. What does the next expansion have in store to truly reignite the community’s enthusiasm?
Naoki Yoshida: First of all, thank you for your continued support and for the opportunity to conduct this email interview!
After we suffered a heavy setback with version 1.0, we were spurred on by the support of all the Warriors of Light. This enabled us to make a comeback with A Realm Reborn and brought us so far on our long journey. I believe that Shadowbringers and Endwalker really sparked tremendous enthusiasm as they represented the first major highlight of the game.
On the other hand, our long-standing commitment to delivering stories and content has led us to carry many unchangeable elements and outdated systems with us. I felt that at the beginning of this new saga, we must take the time to carefully consider whether to change these aspects in the future or leave them as they are.
For this reason, we created a moment to breathe in Dawntrail – as a starting point for the next saga of the game’s history – while simultaneously exploring what needs to change and what should remain the same on our further path. Regarding the “dynamics”: Even though we have not changed ourselves, we are aware that there was more mixed feedback and discussions than ever before, and we aim to evaluate as much of this feedback as possible.
I was also personally torn about whether to maintain our current stability or take a risk to strive for more. However, I have often had the opportunity to appreciate the passion of all our players, the Warriors of Light, anew. This led me to the conclusion that we need to “evolve” every aspect of the game – from the story to the systems to the battles – to provide an even more fun and engaging player experience.
This sums up Evercold, and 8.0 is just the beginning. We plan further “evolutions” for the coming years. As mentioned, these include improvements to everyday life in the game as an MMORPG, major updates to game design, introduction of a new, advanced mode for all existing jobs, as well as continuous improvements in character customization. While I can’t mention everything here, I can say that we aim to reward our players in every conceivable way.
Of course, there are risks and likely concerns that come with the thought that “evolution means change,” and the probability of making mistakes is higher. But just as “taking the first step with hope and courage to move forward” is a central theme of FFXIV’s main scenario, I intend to move forward together with all our players!
With Evercold, a particularly exciting collaboration is also coming with the new Alliance Raids:
The scope has become the biggest challenge
MeinMMO: Final Fantasy XIV is widely regarded as a prime example of the greatest comeback in gaming history. Today, the game is characterized primarily by its deep, narrative-driven journey that almost resembles a single-player RPG. What is the biggest narrative challenge in planning an ongoing story that spans over a decade, so that newcomers are not overwhelmed and veterans still stay emotionally engaged?
Naoki Yoshida: First of all, thank you for this high praise. I truly feel honored. However, what we have today was only possible because of all our Warriors of Light. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again. Thank you!
The biggest concern when crafting an adventure story that spans such a long period is the length of the story itself. It may sound obvious, but when players feel the need to “catch up on the current story,” the hundreds of hours of gameplay can be both the biggest appeal and the biggest hurdle of the game.
To give an example: Suppose there is a globally acclaimed television show currently in its seventh season. Someone might have seen it trending on social media and thought, “I’d like to watch that sometime…” However, the ongoing discussions on social media inevitably revolve around the latest season, leading them to think: “Oh, I have to watch at least six seasons before I get to that point…” This inevitably leads to weighing the “value of the viewing experience” against the “time required.” Additionally, people today have less and less leisure time.
Of course, players can use the “story skip” function to start directly with the latest expansion, but on the other hand, this means they miss out on parts of the narrative, making it impossible to fully enjoy the current story.
We are firmly committed to continuing our efforts to expand the scope of free-to-play content as much as possible, adjust the leveling pace, further improve accessibility of earlier story contents, or implement systems for automating quests. Alternatively, today’s FFXIV offers a system called “New Game+” that allows players to experience earlier main scenario quests at a later date.
Thus, players have three options: experience the story from the beginning, start with the latest story, or start with the latest story and use the system to catch up on the previous story later. I think the idea of allowing players to make this choice when beginning a new adventure fits very well with our world today.
In this sense, it will likely be an endless challenge for us to figure out “how we can help players enjoy the story” – not just through the story itself, but also through the game systems…
Speaking of which, as a side note, I have thought about creating a summary video that uses cutscenes, character narratives, and gameplay material to connect the story up to the latest chapter. However, I hesitate because directing that would be an incredibly challenging endeavor. Moreover, that video alone would likely turn into a massive film with a runtime of over 10 hours! (laughs)
What about you? What does Evercold need to deliver or change to really captivate you again? Or are you among those who also enjoyed Dawntrail? Let us know in the comments!
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