MeinMMO conducted an interview with the head of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida, at gamescom 2025. He revealed to us how he would build an MMORPG if he had started development only in 2025.
What would a Yoshida MMORPG look like in 2025? Final Fantasy XIV began its journey for the first time in 2010, but had to be revised and has evolved into one of the best MMORPGs today.
However, over time, the player base has changed, and so have the MMORPGs. Therefore, MeinMMO wanted to know in the interview how Yoshida would develop an MMORPG if he were to start development today. The chief developer at Square Enix would address the following points:
- Instead of developing content for 4-8 hours, he would focus on smaller content that players would need to plan for a maximum of one hour.
- The Holy Trinity of DPS, Tank, and Healer would no longer exist. Instead, players should have a class that combines multiple functions.
- The graphics would need to be better.
- Larger dungeons with more resources are expected.
Especially the removal of the Holy Trinity of DPS, Tank, and Healer is likely to surprise many players. Because this system is indispensable in many MMORPGs.
Players have less time these days
What brings about these changes? According to Yoshida, one would first need to see whether developing an MMORPG for a large community or a smaller fanbase is better. However, in both cases, players would have much less time to dedicate to the game.
The time one has for MMORPGs these days is less than it was about 15 years ago. Therefore, content should be adjusted accordingly. With the removal of strict class distinctions, for example, matchmaking for content would be much faster, saving time.
Moreover, with the help of artificial intelligence, it is possible to create more content in a shorter time. Yoshida would not hesitate to utilize the technology today. However, only when it comes to distributing items in MMORPGs or similar repetitive tasks. It is important to him that developers can focus on creative work then.
By the way, you will find the complete interview here at MeinMMO.
Several actions in the past have shown that the Holy Trinity is now already outdated in some areas. In Final Fantasy XIV, players have managed to defeat the hardest raid without a healer: A group completes the hardest raid in FFXIV completely without a healer – players complain: “Every day, healers become a little more useless”
