We are excited to share that FINAL FANTASY XIV Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida will be at Anime Expo 2025 as a Guest of Honor, with a FINAL FANTASY XIV booth also at this year’s event! Yoshida will be hosting a panel discussing his career, inspirations, and Japanese pop culture.

 

Panel Details:

Title: Leveling Up: How Anime, Manga, & RPGs Inspired Naoki Yoshida and FINAL FANTASY!

Description: Journey with Naoki Yoshida as he looks back on his life, early career, and experiences working on FFXIV and FFXVI. What are some of his favorite manga or anime? How did they influence his career and FINAL FANTASY? Join us and find out!

Date: Friday, July 4, 2025

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, Petree Hall

The panel will also be streamed so those unable to attend can enjoy the presentation.

 

Please also look forward to additional activities that Yoshida will be a part of throughout Anime Expo!

  • Welcome Ceremony – July 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Peacock Theatre
  • Autograph Sessions – Tickets available through the Epic Website starting June 16 at 12:00 p.m. PT. All Autograph sessions will be held at the JW Mariott Gold Ballroom at the below times. Please note you must have a valid Autograph ticket to enter the Autograph Area. Please do not arrive more than 30 minutes before the start of the session.
    • July 3 at 3:00 p.m.
    • July 5 at 12:45 p.m.
    • July 6 at 10:30 a.m.

 

About Naoki Yoshida:

Naoki Yoshida originally hails from Sapporo City in Hokkaido Prefecture. After graduating vocational school, he joined Hudson Soft Co., Ltd., where he was involved in the development of franchises such as Far East of Eden and Bomberman.

In 2005, Yoshida joined Square Enix Co., Ltd., and took on design and directorial roles for DRAGON QUEST Monster Battle Road and DRAGON QUEST X before being appointed to helm FINAL FANTASY XIV in 2010. As Producer and Director, Yoshida executed an exhaustive plan to overhaul many of the original game’s unpopular systems, relaunching the title as FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Yoshida has continued to lead the development and operations of FINAL FANTASY XIV ever since, as well as oversee the entirety of Creative Studio III.

Recently, Yoshida produced FINAL FANTASY XVI, the latest standalone numbered title in the iconic FINAL FANTASY franchise. He also remains an avid gamer in his free time, often enjoying FINAL FANTASY XIV alongside other Warriors of Light or diving into new releases.