A Final Fantasy XIV player has named an asteroid after the game's producer, Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P. Asteroid Yoshidanaoki presumably isn't about to slam into the world and destroy it Dalamud-style, but it is a real asteroid that now bears Yoshi-P's name.
What's the story behind the Yoshi-P asteroid?
According to Reddit user Rukongai, they recently had the chance to name a "minor planet/asteroid", and so they chose Yoshi-P's real name Naoki Yoshida (written as Yoshida Naoki in Japanese) to bestow upon the floating piece of space debris. You can see the asteroid's path of orbit on the NASA website, as well as the Minor Planet Center. Rukongai says they chose to name the asteroid after Yoshi-P because they thought it would be "appropriate" for the themes of recently-released expansion Endwalker.
Final Fantasy XIV has something of a history with asteroids and the like. At the conclusion of Final Fantasy XIV's initial 1.0 period, as it moved into the A Realm Reborn 2.0 cycle, a giant moon by the name of Dalamud caused chaos when it collided with Eorzea, leading to a major rework for the world in A Realm Reborn. The new expansion, Endwalker, also prominently concerns space, although I don't want to tell you how because I don't want to spoil it for you and incur the wrath of the newly-minted Yoshi-P asteroid.
How is Final Fantasy XIV doing these days?
Final Fantasy XIV is in a pretty good spot right now. After Endwalker proved so popular that the team had to temporarily suspend sales, Yoshi-P and his team are now looking to the future. Today marks the launch of patch 6.1, also known as "Newfound Adventure". After the heavy emotional narratives of Endwalker and Shadowbringers, Yoshi-P is promising a return to freewheeling adventuring, so there's a new set of story quests involving finding adventure and hunting for treasure. This patch also marks the arrival of the first part of the 24-man Myths of the Realm Alliance Raid series, as well as a brand new dungeon and lots more. Be sure to take a look at the full patch notes to see everything that's new.
You can grab Final Fantasy XIV right now on PC and PlayStation consoles. If you're just returning to the game after a break, then you should definitely read up on the new housing lottery changes, too, as the way you buy housing has changed as of patch 6.1. All in all, now's a pretty good time to return to the world of Eorzea and experience everything that's new. Your favorite job might have had a shake-up, too, given the new changes to jobs like Dark Knight and White Mage. Now we just have to hope that ominous giant meteor with Yoshi-P's face emblazoned on it isn't going to wipe us all out.
