The players of Final Fantasy XIV have recently been dissatisfied with their MMORPG. They wish the game would break out of the usual structure. In an interview, the director and producer is now hinting at just that.
What does Naoki Yoshida say in the interview? In an interview with JPGames, the director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida, talks about the previous content structure and his thoughts on how it could be better in the future. Something many players have been demanding for some time now.
Basically, he states that many players are currently skipping various content because they do not see themselves as part of the target audience for it. Hardcore gamers hardly care about casual content, while midcore players cannot relate to hardcore. Now, his team is considering making significant changes to the content structure:
They want to continue creating content for hardcore and casual players. But they now aim to create content that appeals to all subscribers – with outliers at both ends.
A lot of content doesn’t help if players find it irrelevant
What does the content structure in the MMORPG look like currently? At the moment, the team behind the MMORPG is reportedly developing for three different player types, according to Naoki Yoshida:
- Hardcore (e.g., Ultimates, hard raids)
- Midcore (e.g., normal raids, field explorations)
- Casual (e.g., dungeons, quests of allied races)
This structure was set by the team according to Yoshida for the relaunch with A Realm Reborn, to quickly produce endgame content for the MMORPG. Each of the three player categories should have two different types of content, which ultimately leads to six different types.
However, the reality is that players only show interest in the content tailored to them. Developers, therefore, do not have to consider the needs of other player groups when developing certain content. But: While many contents exist, they are simply not relevant for some gamers.
In this regard, Yoshida says: The guideline we had worked well, perhaps a little too well. Because now we have created so much content that players tell us, ‘Oh, this content has nothing to do with me. I don’t care.’
Hardcore and casual content? Yes. But primarily content for everyone
How could Final Fantasy XIV look in the future? Naoki Yoshida speaks in his interview of a very clear vision: What we are now trying to do is to change the design so that we have content that is fun for everyone.
He and the team want to continue to create content tailored to hardcore and casual players. However, they want to try to develop content so that all player types can enjoy it – whether hardcore, midcore, or casual.
When might these thoughts be reflected in the game? In the interview, Yoshida mentions that since the beginning of 2025, he has felt that the structure of Final Fantasy XIV no longer aligns with the players’ preferences. At the time of this news, he and his team have thus potentially been discussing these changes for about eight to nine months.
Finally, the new dates for the upcoming fan festivals for the MMORPG have been announced, which are usually followed by a new expansion. Major changes could potentially be reflected in the game design of 8.0.
However, Naoki Yoshida also mentions content from Patch 7.35, which is set to be released soon. He desires player feedback on it. Therefore, the first changes towards the new direction the team is aiming for might already be noticeable here.
Final Fantasy XIV is indeed known for the developers taking player feedback very seriously. Recently, however, there seems to have been little positive feedback, and some gamers have apparently been so harsh in tone that Naoki Yoshida admonished: “Strict feedback is fine” – the head of Final Fantasy XIV asks players to consider who the feedback is going to: humans
