Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14, has addressed the rumor of a potential Final Fantasy 9 remake. In a recent interview at Gamescom 2024 with jpgames, Yoshida clarified the situation regarding the speculation that has been circulating within the gaming community.

Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 remake have been swirling for years, with various leakers and insiders backing up these claims. Some speculations even suggested that Creative Business Unit 3, the studio behind Final Fantasy 14 and 16, was developing the remake.

The rumors gained traction when Yoshida teased a secret reason for Final Fantasy 9 references in the upcoming Dawntrail expansion for FF14. However, Yoshida has consistently denied that his team at Creative Business Unit 3 is working on such a project.

During the  interview, Yoshida was asked if the Final Fantasy 9 collaboration with FF14 was hinting at a remake. He said that this collaboration did not mean of an FF9 remake being in development. Yoshida acknowledged the game’s large fanbase and mentioned that remaking Final Fantasy 9 would be a significant undertaking due to the game’s extensive content.

Yoshi-P says the FF9 collab in FF14 had nothing to do with any sort of Final Fantasy IX Remake, but wishes the best of luck to any team if they potentially were to do a FF9 Remake! via @jpgames_de

“We had never thought about doing Final Fantasy IX (collaboration) in relation to… pic.twitter.com/K5mKcL13rY

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) September 8, 2024

Yoshida also commented on the scale of such a project, stating that a Final Fantasy 9 remake would likely be comparable to or larger than the ongoing Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy. He expressed that any team taking on this task would have his best wishes.

Yoshida’s statement aligns with his previous responses to similar questions, where he has consistently denied any involvement in a Final Fantasy 9 remake project despite widespread speculation.