Final Fantasy XIV director and publisher Naoki Yoshida has teased an "ending" to the games ongoing storyline, but that narrative conclusion apparently won't be the true end of the popular MMO. Final Fantasy XIV is an extremely popular MMO installment in the historic Final Fantasy franchise that has seen a strong player base since its storied release in August of 2013. Shadowbringers is the most recent storyline within the game that was released in July of 2019.

Director Naoki Yoshida has been with Final Fantasy XIV since its re-launch in August 2013 after the original version of the game, dubbed "1.0", was released to universally negative reception from fans and critics alike in 2010. This led Square Enix to put him at the head of the project, where he decided the best course of action was to build a new version of the game from the ground up for a complete re-release. After a three-year development period and various beta runs, the 2.0 build was launched under the title of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn to a widely positive critical and player response. Since then, there have been eight total expansions and patches that have continued the story of the game as well as improving the game for it's millions of players. The most recent of which was Patch 5.0, which began the Shadowbringers storyline.

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In a New Year's news post on Square Enix's website, Naoki Yoshida teased a potential conclusion to the game's story, as well as hinting at what might come to the near-decade old MMO. Yoshida stated, "Keep a close eye on the team’s progress this year as events build once more to a thrilling and unexpected “ending.” (To the story, not to FFXIV itself!)". He goes on to tease more news on the subject at the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV Announcement Showcase that is planned for February. This could mean both that Shadowbringers is coming to a close and there is a new storyline on the horizon for the game's many dedicated fans, or it might be the start of an entirely new narrative chapter for the game beyond swapping one questline for another.

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Each of Final Fantasy XIV's expansions have added ambitious storylines and features to the game and they have all been praised by players as welcome additions to the game. The player base has continued to grow over the years due to this and the fact that the game's development team, led by Naoki Yoshida himself, are very active and receptive within the community making sure to release both features that are requested and expansions to the game that they hold at a very high standard of play for their many subscribers.

Since being added to the project as Director and lead Publisher in 2010, Yoshida has worked tirelessly to keep Final Fantasy XIV at a high standard compared to the original version's catastrophic release. He has even made a point not to adjust to a free-to-play model like many MMO's do after a few years of operation to keep the game and its ongoing content at a higher standard of play then he feels is possible within a free-to-play model. This dedication to frequent content and it's quality has kept the game viable which has allowed it to stay popular even to today. In July of 2020, Square Enix announced that the game had hit 20 million subscribers. According to Yoshida's New Year's post, they have no plans of slowing down the game either which is good news for its many players.

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Source: Square Enix