Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Berlin was supposed to be all about Evercold, but a few seconds of stage banter ended up doing more numbers online than most of the actual announcements. Naoki Yoshida brought Naoki Hamaguchi out to talk about a Final Fantasy VII crossover raid, then casually dropped the words “FF17” into the conversation, and the internet did what the internet does best.
In Brief
- Yoshi-P joked on stage that fans want Naoki Hamaguchi directing Final Fantasy 17, then cut him off before he could answer
- The moment happened at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin during the reveal of the FF7-themed raid series Beyond the Lifestream
- Hamaguchi currently directs the FF7 Remake trilogy, with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation targeting a spring release
- Final Fantasy 17 still has not been officially announced by Square Enix
Yoshi-P Brings Up Final Fantasy 17 On Stage
The exchange happened while Yoshida welcomed the Final Fantasy VII Remake series director on stage to discuss the new collaboration raid for the Evercold expansion. Yoshida mentioned that plenty of fans in the comments had said they wanted Hamaguchi handling the next mainline entry. Hamaguchi started to reply with “If I answer,” and Yoshida immediately shut it down with a laugh.
Translation came courtesy of the @aitaikimochi account on X, and the clip spread fast. Whether Hamaguchi was about to confirm something or just play along is anyone’s guess, but Yoshida’s reaction is the part people keep replaying.
Fans Want Hamaguchi On Final Fantasy 17
Hamaguchi has been working on Final Fantasy projects since 2006 and directed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which landed well with a lot of the fanbase. He is also leading Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, and he confirmed at the same event that Revelation is coming this spring, with the team pushing to hit that window.
Handing him a brand new mainline Final Fantasy while he is closing out a trilogy would be an enormous ask, which is why a chunk of the community thinks another team is already deep into FF17 and Hamaguchi is more likely a candidate for whatever comes after.
Square Enix on Final Fantasy 17
Not much, and that is the honest answer. Yoshida previously said he was not necessarily involved with the next mainline entry and that the battle system would be up to whoever ends up directing it. He has avoided committing to turn-based or action combat, arguing that the system should follow the vision rather than the other way around.
So treat this Fan Fest moment for what it is. A funny bit of stage chemistry that hints Square Enix has something cooking internally, not a reveal. Final Fantasy 17 remains unannounced, undated, and unconfirmed, and the next official word could still be years away.
