Final Fantasy 14's director hopes to "kick it up a notch" both in and out of the game this coming year.
Yesterday on February 23, Final Fantasy 14 was awarded Online Game of the Year at the DICE 2023 Awards. Game director Naoki Yoshida had a message in store to accept the award, seen just below, in which Yoshida says he hopes to "kick it up a notch" for Final Fantasy 14 this coming year.
Congratulations to #FFXIV #Endwalker for winning Online Game of the Year at the 26th Annual #DICEAwards! @FF_XIV_EN pic.twitter.com/GqHJeIr8p7February 24, 2023
Why "kick it up a notch" this year in particular? 2023 happens to be the tenth anniversary of Final Fantasy 14's re-launch with A Realm Reborn, which Yoshida was placed in charge of by Square Enix to basically salvage the MMORPG after a disastrous launch years earlier.
"In celebration of this milestone," Yoshida says in the message above, referencing Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn's tenth anniversary, "we hope to kick it up a notch and bring plenty of excitement both in and out of the game, starting with hosting our Final Fantasy events, where we're able to meet with you all in person."
The "Final Fantasy events" Yoshida references here are the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest events, returning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time since 2019. The real-life events will be taking place in both Las Vegas and London later this year, and will be attended by Yoshida himself.
Yoshida and company clearly have big plans for 2023 in Final Fantasy 14. Last year in September, Yoshida said the game's dev team wanted to do something "flashy" for the game's tenth anniversary this year, which indicates Square Enix has probably found the "flashy" something. What this could actually be for Final Fantasy 14, both in and out of the game, we'll have to wait and see to find out.
Last month in August, Yoshida confirmed Final Fantasy 14 would hit a new level cap of 100 with its next major expansion.
