Square Enix Quietly Removes Final Fantasy 14’s Producer From Its Board of Directors

Naoki Yoshida, the producer of one of the biggest MMORPGs in the world, Final Fantasy 14, won’t be a part of Square Enix’s board of directors anymore once April comes around. Yoshida was added to the board in 2018.

This information was first spotted by Automaton Media. According to a document released by Square Enix on February 27, Yoshida is nowhere to be found as a Director. Instead, his position is now an Executive Officer. While this can be seen as a demotion, this might actually work in Yoshida’s favor.

According to a report by Dot Esports, Yoshida talked to NRC, a Dutch publication, and mentioned that he has already tried to step down from the position. “I recently tried to quit that work, but the company didn’t agree with it. I don’t want to be on the board, it’s much more fun to just make games,” Yoshida told the outlet. He also mentions that he doesn’t understand why developers want to be on the board of directors. “They probably just want to make a ton of money, but you can also just do that as a game developer.” 

Aside from voluntary stepping down, Final Fantasy 16’s sales figure can also be a reason for his removal. In August 2023, the president of Square Enix mentioned that the game did not reach the “high end of the company’s expectations”, which means that Final Fantasy 16 has not sold as much as they wanted. Yoshida was the producer of the game.

Despite this, Final Fantasy 14 is one of Square Enix’s best selling products and Yoshida is acting as its producer. The game has become Square Enix’s most profitable Final Fantasy game in 2021, amassing more than 100,000 players daily, with its latest expansion, Dawntrail, giving it its biggest player count since A Realm Reborn’s initial release.