A few weeks before the release of Dawntrail, the next expansion of FFXIV, I was able to play it and speak with Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of the game. While the title displays its ambition to restart for a decade of activity, it could just as easily be available on new platforms.
In 2024, Final Fantasy XIV has passed ten years of activity since its second launch in 2013 with A Realm Reborn. While the title can already congratulate itself on such longevity, Square Enix’s flagship MMORPG has no plans to stop there. Thus, its next expansion, Dawntrail, marks the start of a new era for the game which is designed to last at least another decade. A few weeks before its release, we were able to play this new adventure in preview, but also talk to Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of the game. And one thing is certain, it is that the latter does not hide his ambitions for the future of his title.
A multi-platform ambition for FF14
On the occasion of this event dedicated to Dawntrail, we were treated to an interview with Naoki Yoshida jointly with Frandroid. During this interview, our colleague Cassim Montilla came to ask him about the future prospects of the game regarding platforms on which Final Fantasy XIV is not available. To this, the producer begins by recalling what his ambitions are with regard to the accessibility of the game:
My original goal for Final Fantasy 14 is for the game to be available on all devices and platforms. Then what I think is really important is that no matter what device you’re logging in on, you’re logging into the same world and everyone’s playing together. This is my policy.
Despite this good will, the availability of Final Fantasy XIV on all media is not won due to various factors beyond the control of the director:
Implementing my policy is a bit tricky to implement because each platform has its own regulations and some of its owners have rules that stipulate that certain players on a certain platform cannot play with those on other platforms. It is therefore in this type of situation that this regulation comes into conflict with my vision of things. If we are unable to find a solution that allows us to address this situation, this unfortunately means that we cannot provide our services on this device.
However, Naoki Yoshida wants to be rather positive for the future and does not hide its ambitions in relation to future ports on particularly popular platforms.
Final Fantasy XIV on Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android?
A little later during our interview, the director continues his momentum and clearly states his desire for Final Fantasy XIV to be available on absolutely all platformsincluding on mobiles and Nintendo Switch which are supports seem more complicated than the others:
However, we have spoken with many platform owners and I believe we have finally arrived at a point where we can find a solution moving forward. I’m not even talking in terms of years, but I really would like Final Fantasy 14 to be available on all platforms as soon as possible.
Now there are not so many platforms we need to address. (…) So there are only smartphones and Nintendo platforms left and I want to make the game available on these media as quickly as possible.. And this dream that I have, I absolutely want to achieve it and I will do my best to achieve it, so I invite you to be patient.
According to the latest rumors, it seems that the successor to the Nintendo Switch could be as powerful as a PS4, the support on which FFXIV already runs. And then, we know that the game is capable of running on a portable medium since we see it with the Steam Deck, so a port of the game seems credible. As for the mobile side, this could be possible thanks to Cloud Gaming, as is already the case for Xbox Game Pass games. Now it remains to be seen how all this would translate into controls. In any case, one thing is certain, it is that Naoki Yoshida has no shortage of ambitions for his title which could well be available on all media in the decade to come.
