Yoshi-P Says Kids Have Moved On from Final Fantasy Because New Games Take Too Long
Naoki Yoshida — known universally as Yoshi-P, the producer behind Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix) and Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix, 2023) — says the Final Fantasy franchise is losing younger players, and he attributes this to the long gaps between mainline releases.
The comment is the most candid assessment of the franchise’s audience problem to come from inside Square Enix in years.
What Yoshi-P Said About Final Fantasy and Kids
Yoshi-P’s argument is straightforward: mainline Final Fantasy games now take so long to develop that children who were old enough to anticipate a new entry are adults by the time it ships. The franchise is not picking up the next generation of players because those players are not sticking around through multi-year development cycles.
The Development Timeline Problem
Final Fantasy XVI launched in June 2023, roughly six years after Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix, 2016). Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix, 2024) arrived as part of a multi-part remake project that began with Final Fantasy VII Remake in 2020. The mainline numbered series — where new IP entries that would attract new audiences appear — runs on timelines that are incompatible with building a young fanbase.
A 10-year-old player who got excited about a Final Fantasy announcement in 2023 might be 15 or 16 before the game is released. By then, they have played three or four other open-world or live-service titles that have become their primary gaming identity. Final Fantasy does not have the “pick up and play at any point” accessibility of, say, Minecraft or Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which are the titles actually capturing young SEA players right now.
Yoshi-P’s Authority on This Topic
This is not a detached observation. Yoshi-P rebuilt Final Fantasy XIV — a game that launched disastrously in 2010 — into a live-service title that as of 2024 carries over 30 million registered accounts (Square Enix). He knows what it takes to retain a player base across years. His concern about the numbered franchise’s development pace is rooted in that specific experience of watching what keeps people engaged.
What This Means for the Final Fantasy Franchise
The numbered Final Fantasy series is in a structural bind. Each mainline entry is expected to be a complete, high-production-value standalone experience, which mandates long development times. But those long timelines actively work against building the kind of cross-generational audience that keeps a franchise culturally relevant across decades.
Square Enix’s response to this has been, in part, to lean on Final Fantasy XIV as the franchise’s always-on presence — but XIV is not an entry point for players who do not want an MMO. Final Fantasy VII’s ongoing remake project extends the brand’s relevance, but it does not resolve the new-player acquisition problem Yoshi-P is describing.
What the SEA Fanbase Reflects
Southeast Asia has a substantial Final Fantasy XIV player base, particularly in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. But the players in that community came up through FFXIV’s A Realm Reborn era (2013 onward). Younger SEA gamers who grew up post-2018 are far more likely to identify with Genshin Impact (miHoYo, 2020) or MLBB as their primary RPG and action gaming experience.
What Comes Next
Square Enix has not announced a concrete strategy change in response to Yoshi-P’s comments. Final Fantasy VII Part 3 is in development. No new mainline numbered entry beyond that has been formally announced.
The question Yoshi-P is raising may not have a comfortable answer within the current development model.
Source: Interview with Naoki Yoshida — original sourcing via games press
Image: Square Enix
