Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida has outlined the timeline for Final Fantasy XIV’s much anticipated graphical overhaul, and says that some parts may take “several years” to be implemented. The producer and director of FFXIV talked about the future of the game in a New Year’s greeting posted on the official Lodestone site.
In the greeting, Yoshida first talked about the success of 2023 and its Fan Festivals, before teasing at new info for Dawntrail. With a note apparently left by an “explorer” (seemingly Erenville), Yoshi-P hinted at this year’s expansion, before talking about the upcoming graphical overhaul.
“Our current tasks─not the least of which is a major update to overhaul ten years' worth of graphic development─involve making steady improvements to our development and operational processes with an eye towards long-term service,” the letter said.
He then explained the timescale for these developments. “Some of these changes will be felt immediately, while others may only become noticeable after several years.” Yoshi-P might have been deliberately vague here, but his wording suggests that some parts may take a long time to be implemented. Or, perhaps, it will involve honing elements of the game that are seldom seen.
Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure: Yoshi-P and Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit III aren’t rushing this graphical update: “With "haste makes waste" as our mantra, however, we intend to tackle the obstacles before us with a deliberate thoroughness.”
Final Fantasy XIV’s graphical update was announced at a 2022 Live Letter, and shown off at the Las Vegas Fan Fest in 2023, and was confirmed to be part of the Dawntrail expansion. Details of the graphical overhaul were further shown at the London Fan Fest in October. The seeds of the graphical overhaul were laid in 2017 when the game ended support for PlayStation 3. With this decision, the game was less constrained by hardware limitations.
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