Director of Final Fantasy 14 Naoki Yoshida has confirmed that progress is already underway on the story for the next expansion.
Last year, Final Fantasy 14 finally wrapped up the story it’s been building towards since its relaunch in 2013 with the expansion Endwalker. The story has been developing for almost a whole decade, with four expansions and many patches slowly telling the grand adventure set in Hydaelyn. But according to an interview with NME, Yoshida has already started planning for 7.0, the next expansion.
“The plot for the main scenario in the Patch 6.X series has already been completed and we’ve decided on its conclusion. Currently, script-related work for several patches and work on the detailed plot are underway. In fact, on my end, I’m already deciding on what I envision for 7.0,” said Yoshida in the interview.
It’s rare that an MMO actually fully wraps up the story it’s trying to tell, something World of Warcraft has a problem with, but Yoshida and co have actually done the unthinkable with Final Fantasy 14. The story isn’t quite over yet, as he notes that more 6.X patches are on the way, but it’s interesting that Yoshida is already thinking about what to do for the next arc in the world of Final Fantasy 14.
As well as touching on the narrative future of the game, Yoshida touched on the Island Sanctuary, a new unique area that will allow fans to interact in more relaxing ways than the main game. “Everything is progressing well but since this is content that plays very differently from things we’ve implemented previously, now that Patch 6.1 has been released, I’d like to spend taking a closer look by showcasing it in the Letter from the Producer Live for Patch 6.2.”
Yoshida also recently touched on the development of Final Fantasy 16, which is apparently in “the final stages of development.”