Square Enix executives Naoki Yoshida and Naoki Hamaguchi may have quietly dropped the first official hints regarding Final Fantasy 17, briefly teasing Hamaguchi’s potential involvement in the unannounced title during a panel at the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest. While Square Enix has maintained strict silence about the future of the mainline series, this exchange between two of its most prominent developers marks one of the few instances where the seventeenth installment has been publicly referenced by studio leadership.
The exchange unfolded when Yoshida, executive producer of Final Fantasy 14, highlighted persistent fan commentary advocating for Hamaguchi to direct the next mainline entry following his work on the Final Fantasy 7 remake series. When Hamaguchi hesitated before offering a response, Yoshida promptly interrupted to shut down the topic. While framed as a lighthearted interaction, the deliberate reluctance to answer suggests that internal planning for Final Fantasy 17 is active, with Hamaguchi emerging as a logical candidate to lead development.
Hamaguchi’s credentials make him a natural choice to steer the franchise into its next era. Joining Square Enix two decades ago, he initially contributed to visual effects and rendering on 2006’s Final Fantasy 12 before serving in key programming capacities throughout the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy. He later co-directed Final Fantasy 7 Remake alongside Tetsuya Nomura, before taking complete directorial control over both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. His tenure has consistently demonstrated a capacity for handling high-budget productions and modernizing classic RPG systems.
With Final Fantasy 16 having concluded its primary development cycle and Square Enix nearing the final stretch of its Final Fantasy 7 reimagining, resources are inevitably transitioning toward the publisher’s next major endeavor. While an official reveal is unlikely until current release slates clear out, the exchange provides a clear signal that Square Enix is actively laying the groundwork for the next generation of its premier role-playing franchise.
