Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, people around the world were restricted to their homes for months. Accordingly, meeting friends and family members became a far-off possibility. The composer of Final Fantasy 14, Masayoshi Soken, is no exception, as he had to secretly battle cancer in the past year.
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2020 was a huge challenge for the gaming industry. Developers had to work from home, which led to a plethora of games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Halo Infinite getting delayed. While many understood the situation of the developers, others often raged against them.
However, the story of Masayoshi Soken is enough to prove how certain developers in the industry have literally dedicated their lives to their work.
Final Fantasy 14 composer Masayoshi Soken kept his struggle with cancer a secret
Final Fantasy 14 recently conducted the highly anticipated digital fan fest that comprised several peaks and valleys. From massive game reveals to the developers dancing, the event was full of memorable moments.
Having said that, the biggest highlight of the digital fan fest was Masayoshi Soken. The composer revealed he had been fighting cancer alone in 2020, while actively working on the game. He did not inform the developing team about the same, and wanted to give his best to the fans.
Yoshi P, Final Fantasy 14’s Director and Soken’s close friend, also opened up on the matter in the event. He revealed how friends and family could not visit Soken because of the pandemic, and shed tears as soon as he saw him on stage.
“He kept telling us, not to tell the dev team. Even though he was in so much pain, and because of the Coronavirus pandemic, no one could see him. Why is he working so hard? Soken told us, it’s because the players, the players are waiting for it. That’s why we have to do it. And the best medicine to cure my cancer is, you know, the cheers from the fans!” said Yoshi P.
Here’s a post on r/LivestreamFail that translated Yoshi P’s recent statements.
Final Fantasy 14’s director in tears on stage seeing the game’s composer the first time after his secret battle with cancer from LivestreamFail
Endwalker expansion arriving on November 23
The long-running Hydaelyn and Zodiark story arc is nearing its end with the Endwalker expansion in Final Fantasy 14. There will be new areas and cities to explore, new jobs to play, and of course, new enemies to defeat.
In the latest fan fest, these were the announcements made regarding Endwalker:
- New Jobs: Reaper
- New Cities: Old Sharlayan
- Travel to expansive new areas, including Labyrinthose and Mare Lamentorum
- New Tribes to Encounter: Loporrits
- New Threats to Overcome: The Magus Sisters
- A New Alliance Raid Series: Myths of the Realm
This is going to be a huge update for Final Fantasy 14, and will certainly dictate the future of the game. The dedication of the developing team to release new content amidst nationwide lockdowns and restriction is commendable, to say the least.
