Recently, Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV, announced that the upcoming expansion, Evercold, will adjust the narrative pacing. The team plans to move some regional and cultural descriptions to side quests, allowing the main storyline to progress at a brisker pace.
Naoki Yoshida discussed lessons learned from Dawntrail during a media Q&A at a Japanese fan festival. According to attendees, he acknowledged that the expansion suffered from pacing issues at launch. The team devoted significant space to carefully presenting the new region, culture, and character introductions, which noticeably slowed the story's progression and failed to align with players' motivation to continue exploring the main storyline.
Yoshida viewed this misalignment as a shortcoming during his tenure as director. For Evercold, players who wish to delve deeper into the world-building can choose when to experience the relevant side quests, while the main storyline will reduce the impact of such content on its pacing.
He also stated that Final Fantasy XIV needs to respect the time players invest in the game; if the story doesn't move forward at a faster pace, it becomes harder for players to engage. GamesRadar expressed cautious optimism about this adjustment, noting that Dawntrail's later story arcs have already shown improvement, but the actual impact of Evercold can only be judged after its release.