Sq. Enix has revealed by an up to date checklist of its executives that Closing Fantasy 14 and Closing Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida is not a member of the corporate’s board of administrators. Whereas Yoshida continues to be current in one in all Sq. Enix’s official web site’s pages as one in all its executives, his departure from the board of administrators continues to be latest sufficient that not all pages have been up to date but, as caught by Automaton Media.
Having initially joined Sq. Enix again in 2005, Yoshida turned an government officer within the firm again in 2015, shortly after the success of Closing Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Since then, Yoshida has labored as producer on the MMORPG, and most lately, was additionally the producer on Closing Fantasy 16.
Sq. Enix itself hasn’t but launched an announcement about Yoshida leaving the board of administrators. An interview he had with Dutch publication NRC signifies that the choice to depart the place may need been at the very least partially his. “I don’t need to be on the board, it’s far more enjoyable to only make video games,” mentioned Yoshida within the 2023 interview (translation through Dot Esports).
Yoshida hasn’t but made any statements about his departure from the board of administrators both, and it appears to be like like he’ll proceed heading up Sq. Enix’s Inventive Enterprise Unit 3 as producer.
Closing Fantasy 14 itself has nonetheless been fairly profitable for Sq. Enix; the MMORPG bought its most up-to-date enlargement, Dawntrail, final 12 months. Dawntrail additionally noticed fairly an increase in participant numbers for the sport, with Yoshida himself saying that the enlargement noticed the best variety of concurrent gamers throughout all platforms for the reason that launch of Closing Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn all the way in which again in 2013.
Yoshida has been notable within the historical past of Closing Fantasy thanks largely to his management of the staff that was capable of efficiently flip Closing Fantasy 14 round from its originally-failing launch into an honest MMORPG with A Realm Reborn. Since then, the sport has seen a number of expansions alongside the way in which, with Heavensward and Shadowbringers being particularly praised by critics because of their tales.
Closing Fantasy 16, then again, whereas nonetheless critically acclaimed, had seemingly upset Sq. Enix when it comes to gross sales figures for its authentic PS5-exclusive launch. Since then, the sport has additionally been launched on PC. Yoshida himself additionally mentioned that future titles by Sq. Enix could be getting multiplatform releases.
The sentiment was echoed by Closing Fantasy 7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase again in December, when he mentioned that whereas Sq. Enix was glad with the gross sales of the title, “it’s clear that we are able to’t be unique to a single platform.”
“I believe we have to supply the sport to as many gamers as doable,” he mentioned.
In its latest earnings repot, Sq. Enix reported an increase in working income. Among the many video games credited for this enhance in income was Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D, which was launched on PC, PS5, Xbox Collection X/S and Nintendo Change again in November 2024. Take a look at our overview for extra particulars.
