Square Enix has revealed through an updated list of its executives that Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida is no longer a member of the board of directors. While Yoshida is still present in one of Square Enix’s official website’s pages as an executive, his departure from the board of directors is recent enough that not all pages have been updated yet, as caught by Automaton Media.
Having originally joined Square Enix back in 2005, Yoshida became an executive officer in the company in 2015, shortly after the success of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Since then, Yoshida has worked as a producer on the MMORPG and, more recently, the producer for Final Fantasy 16.
Square Enix hasn’t yet released a statement about Yoshida leaving the board of directors. An interview he had with Dutch publication NRC indicates that the decision to leave the position might have been at least partially his. “I don’t want to be on the board. It’s much more fun to just make games,” said Yoshida in the 2023 interview (translation via Dot Esports).
Yoshida hasn’t made any statements about his departure either, and it looks like he will continue heading up Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit 3.
Final Fantasy 14 itself has still been quite successful for Square Enix; the MMORPG saw its most recent expansion, Dawntrail, launch last year. It prompted a rise in player numbers, with Yoshida himself announcing that the title saw the highest number of concurrent players across all platforms since the release of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn back in 2013.
Yoshida has been notable in the history of Final Fantasy thanks in large part successfully turning Final Fantasy 14 around from its originally-failing release into a decent MMORPG with A Realm Reborn. Since then, the game has seen several expansions along the way, with Heavensward and Shadowbringers especially praised by critics for their stories.
Final Fantasy 16, on the other hand, while still critically acclaimed, had seemingly disappointed Square Enix in terms of sales figures with its original PS5-exclusive release. Since then, it’s been released on PC. Yoshida himself also said that future titles by Square Enix would be getting multiplatform releases.
The sentiment was echoed by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase in December. While Square Enix was satisfied with the title’s sales, “it’s clear that we can’t be exclusive to a single platform.” “I think we need to offer the game to as many players as possible.”
In its recent earnings report, Square Enix reported a rise in operating profits. Among the games credited for this increase in revenue was Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D, which was released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch in November 2024. Check out our review for more details.
