Final Fantasy XI gets a new director

With Final Fantasy XIV launching later this month and a major version update coming in the very near future, Final Fantasy XI is facing some very interesting times. So it's probably fitting that the game has acquired a new director, Akihiko Matsui, the former battle director for the game. Matsui has posted a short letter to the community, talking both about his experience with the game and his continued commitment to the development of Vana'diel.

While Square-Enix has clearly allocated a great many resources to the development of Final Fantasy XIV, there's no sign that support for the older game is stopping. As a 10-year veteran of the project, Matsui recognizes the challenges facing the continued operation and states that he hopes to keep the game up and running for many years to come. Coupled with the encouragement to play both games at once, this announcement should come as welcome news to all players of Final Fantasy XI, both past and present.

[Thanks to FusionX for the tip!]