Final Fantasy 14 Director Reveals Ghost of Yotei Was the Game That Impressed Him Most in 2025

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Naoki Yoshida, the director and producer of Final Fantasy 14, recently shared that Ghost of Yotei was his favorite game of 2025. Considering the number of excellent games released this year by both large and independent studios, his praise for Ghost of Yotei is especially meaningful.

Despite being released late in the year, Ghost of Yotei has quickly become a favorite among PlayStation players. Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, it’s one of just a handful of games exclusive to the PS5, and it’s gained attention for its beautiful graphics and engaging gameplay. Although there was some pre-release discussion surrounding the game, Ghost of Yotei has received generally positive reviews, currently holding an 87 score on OpenCritic. Reviewers consistently praise its stunning visuals and exciting combat, and recently, even another developer has spoken highly of the title.

Yoshi-P Reveals Why Ghost of Yotei Impressed Him This Year

Naoki Yoshida, known as Yoshi-P and the producer/director of Final Fantasy 14, named Ghost of Yotei as his most impressive game of 2025. In a recent 4Gamer interview (translated from Japanese), Yoshi-P shared that he’s still playing the PS5 exclusive and found it incredibly insightful. He specifically mentioned learning a great deal about both the technical aspects and the dedication to production quality. He was particularly struck by how beautifully the game recreated Mount Yotei, a volcano he often admired while snowboarding in Niseko. He praised the game’s stunning reproduction of the mountain’s beauty.

Yoshi-P, a prominent figure in the gaming industry, was particularly impressed with Ghost of Yotei in 2025, a choice that might surprise some. The game, set 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima, beautifully recreates the northern Japanese countryside during the Edo period. Its setting is especially meaningful, as it takes place in the Hokkaido region – the birthplace of Yoshi-P himself, and home to the iconic Mount Yotei. Developers at Sucker Punch utilized advanced technology like ray tracing to build this visually stunning world, which clearly captivated fans like Yoshi-P.

This isn’t the first time the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14 has shared a game they enjoy. Earlier this year, Yoshi-P mentioned he was playing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and he highly recommended it to anyone interested in a career in game development.

More Things Are Planned for Final Fantasy 14 in 2026

Even though Yoshida enjoys other games, he’s still dedicated to Final Fantasy 14. The game is over ten years old now, but the developers keep it fresh with new content and regular updates. They even released a bug-fixing update on Christmas Day to improve how the game plays.

As 2025 comes to a close, the head of Final Fantasy 14, Yoshi-P, is aiming for even bigger improvements to the game in 2026. The development team plans to share more details in the spring. Yoshi-P has hinted at significant changes, even calling it a potential “second rebirth” for the game, but hasn’t revealed specifics yet. Fans will need to wait until 2026 to see what the developers have planned.

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2025-12-28 13:04