The original Final Fantasy was released in 1987. Since then, sixteen mainline games have been released, as well as numerous spin-offs and remakes. The franchise has been popular enough to branch into other forms of media like manga, anime, novels, and feature-length movies. It has also inspired countless cosplays.
Although the franchise is massively popular with certain groups, mainly gamers who grew up playing these titles, it is reportedly struggling to reach newer audiences. The Final Fantasy 14 director, Naoki Yoshida, believes that younger generations in particular are having a harder time connecting with the famous franchise. In his opinion, the time it takes to release new games is to blame.
In an interview promoting Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy, Yoshida said, "I'm 53 now, and I've been playing since Final Fantasy 1 in real time... But for younger generations—people who grew up naturally accustomed to action-based combat and online competitive play—the recent entries in the series may have been harder to engage with.”
He went on to say, “Part of that is simply because I'm sorry to say... The release intervals for new titles have gotten longer, so some players haven't really had the chance to connect with the series the way older fans did."
The wait between games is something even older fans have criticized. The Final Fantasy 7 remake has been broken up into three separate installments instead of being released all at once, like the original. The first installment was released in 2020. The second didn’t come out until 2024, and the third still doesn’t have a release date set.
Although Yoshida is excited about the new game and says that he “really wants everyone to play it as soon as possible," he needs the team to work on "refining and polishing” the game first in order to release the best product possible.
