Square Enix producer Naoki Yoshida has said that Final Fantasy 17 should be made by fresh blood comprising of new and young developers. Yoshida sat down for a lengthy interview with Sony Interactive Entertainment‘s Shuhei Yoshida to talk about the future of Final Fantasy, during which he shared his thoughts on development of the next installment.
Why Final Fantasy 17 needs new blood
The interview was part of The Academy of Arts & Sciences Game Maker’s Notebook. Yoshida was asked if he would be directing FF17, to which he said that he’s already worked on two major games in the franchise — FF14 and FF16 — and he feels that it’s time for someone new to take over. Yoshida chose his words carefully because he’s on the board of directors and said that he needs to watch what he says. But he did reveal that Square Enix hasn’t decided who will direct FF17 yet.
“Instead of having the same old guys handle the next game, I think in some ways it would be good to look to the future and bring in a younger generation with more youthful sensibilities, to make a new Final Fantasy with challenges that suit today’s world,” Yoshida said around the 1:03:00 mark in the video below.
In a hypothetical scenario that someone new is tasked with directing FF17, Yoshida says his advice would be to challenge what’s already been done.
