Fox, a member of the Final Fantasy XIV team, revealed that Natsuko Ishikawa is currently busy with scenario writing, and colleagues have been asked to avoid talking to her to prevent taking up time she needs for writing.
Communication among other team members is more open. The localization and scenario teams have dedicated Slack channels where members can ask questions directly and receive prompt replies.
This arrangement does not hinder casual conversations during breaks. Fox mentioned that he still chats with Natsuko Ishikawa during lunch. Although others seem hesitant to approach her, she actually appears quite happy when they do strike up a conversation.
Murouchi also stated that the team hopes to bring Natsuko Ishikawa to the next Fan Festival. The most recent event was just held in Berlin, where several new announcements for Final Fantasy XIV were made. Fox believes fans would also like more opportunities to interact with her, but it is difficult to pull her away from her work; he hopes to give her a break so she can visit the event and chat with fans.
Final Fantasy XIV's sixth full expansion, "Dawntrail," will be set in the "Fourth World," an apocalyptic realm locked in eternal ice, with settings heavily influenced by Norse mythology. Players can choose the order in which they progress through the main story quests, so NPCs must prepare multiple sets of dialogue that change according to the player's progress and events occurring in the world.
The new expansion will also raise the level cap to 110 and introduce new jobs and raids. One of the new jobs uses a weapon combining a shield and cannon, with gameplay focused on tanking. The other ranged DPS job has not yet been revealed and will officially launch with the expansion in January 2027.