At Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest in Berlin, series producer Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) made a pointed remark suggesting that Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the FF7 Remake trilogy, could be in line to direct the next mainline Final Fantasy title. The comment came during a fan Q&A panel called Naoki's Room, and though light-hearted in tone, it has sparked immediate speculation among fans about the future direction of the franchise, given Hamaguchi's well-regarded work on the remake series.

Yoshida told Hamaguchi he had noticed fans commenting that they'd like him to work on "Final Fantasy 17" rather than further remakes, calling it "probably the highest praise you can get" before jokingly cutting him off when Hamaguchi began to respond. The exchange took place towards the end of the panel, which ran from 4:45 to 6:02 in the Fan Fest livestream, and no confirmation of any such project was given. Square Enix has not announced a new mainline entry, so the remark remains speculative for now, with fans awaiting further news.