The director of Final Fantasy XIV has a warning for players who hurl abuse at developers under the guise of criticism.
Speaking at a panel at PAX West 2025 this past weekend (via Eurogamer), Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida spoke about dealing with player feedback as a developer.
In particular, he focused on the less constructive, more abusive sort of “criticism” that gamers have unfortunately become somewhat infamous for, something that the Final Fantasy XIV team has some experience dealing with.
His view of that sort of harassment is that it’s ultimately harmful not just to the people on the receiving end, but the industry as a whole.
‘We See Gamers As Allies Or Friends’
While player feedback and criticism can be valuable to developers, Yoshi-P emphasizes that, at the end of the day, developers and players want the same thing, and the fans need to remember that there are people at the other end of their comments, saying, “I want to emphasize here, there is a person behind the games.”
He warns players about the harm that can be done by venting their frustrations with “harsh words” for developers.
“And some of the...
