The critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV’s producer, Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida, has suggested collaborating with Final Fantasy XVI. What this means for FFXIV Gil farmers and other players alike is still vague, but we can be sure it will happen sooner or later.
Yoshi-P’s ‘Agreement’
Various interviews and articles all agree on one thing. FFXIV’s producer wants to talk to FFXVI’s counterpart. In a Chinese magazine, Yoshi-P cheekily said that he’d have to speak with FFXVI’s producer first and that it’s a good thing that person’s name is also Yoshida.
When asked which collaborations he’d want to do during a panel at PAX East in Boston, he said much the same thing. He wants to talk to FFXVI’s producer first and that he heard [that person] is also attending. If he sees FFXVI’s producer, he will surely ask about it.
Yoshi-P is the producer for both games, which you can verify on reputable sites. That’s the joke. He’s consistently saying it like that, perhaps to avoid committing to the collaboration. Many obstacles and technical problems could pop up. He could be trying to prevent hyping up the fans too prematurely.
The action RPG is coming out in June, about two months away. While it would be good to draw in new players from FFXVI, the game isn’t even out yet. Although it must be almost complete, there are still things to fix and polish.
That’s why he’s only hinting. He can’t directly say, ‘Yes, there’s going to be an FFXIV and FFXVI collab.’ It would only mean raising the fans’ expectations. If he didn’t deliver, that would ruin his reputation and the games’ by extension.
Why We Can Be Sure There Will Be One
There are already several collaborations with other games in FFXIV. From Yo-Kai Watch to Nier: Automata, they’re an excellent way to pull players in through other fandoms. Some of them even involve the franchise:
- Burgeoning Dread and The Maiden’s Rhapsody (FFXI)
- Return to Ivalice (FFXII/FFT)
- Lightning Strike (FFXIII)
- A Nocturne for Heroes (FFXV)
These provided players with various other game-themed stuff. Most notably, the one for FFXV brought a 4-seater FFXIV mounts to the game, the Regalia. That meant you could recreate the legendary road trips from 15 with your friends as you drive around Eorzea. The Nier collaboration brought skins (like 2B’s dress, available for all genders) and a themed dungeon.
If he can get those on FFXIV when he’s not involved in their creation, what more for FFXVI when he is? That streamlines the whole process since he’s in charge of both games. Then again, he does have to gain the approval of the various other people involved in developing the games.
He might be the overseer and the big boss, but he can’t push even more work onto his employees. Now is even a sensitive time because FFXVI’s release is coming. Things must be working as they should by June, or they might have to postpone the release a few more weeks. It’s another consideration to not committing to a collaboration just yet.
Take Things With a Grain of Salt (or Maybe a Handful)
Despite Yoshida wanting this crossover, it can take time to prepare. The other game hasn’t even been released yet! For example, FFXV was released in 2016, and the crossover in FFXIV first happened in 2019. That’s a three-year gap, which could also occur for this theoretical FFXVI collab.
While we’re pretty sure it will happen, it won’t be for a long time. It won’t go beyond this level of teasing until FFXVI has established itself. By then, more interest in both games will make collaborating worth it. Don’t get your hopes too high. It will be a long, long time before this comes to fruition.
In the meantime, many things could happen. FFXVI could be delayed or not do as well as other entries in the franchise. While those aren’t reasons for the collab not to occur, it could further push back its release. The point is it’s too early to hope and plan for it in the near future.
Still, you can rest easy that Yoshi-P is amenable to one. It’s a tentative thing, which is why he’s avoiding using definitive words. Much about it is still unformed, especially since FFXVI is still under development. He wants a crossover but can’t definitively say it will happen. In the meantime, you can farm some FFXIV Gil while waiting for more news.
