Eikichi Iwai, Bassist for THE PRIMALS and Final Fantasy XIV, Dies at 57

Eikichi Iwai, the bassist for THE PRIMALS, the official band for Final Fantasy XIV, has died at the age of 57. Square Enix and the Final Fantasy XIV accounts announced his passing on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and a joint statement from the Final Fantasy XIV development and operations team was posted on the game community site. Neither the Square Enix and Final Fantasy XIV announcements nor the band statements gave a cause of death, and the passing was described as sudden.

"We are deeply saddened to share the news of the sudden passing of bassist Eikichi Iwai," the Square Enix and Final Fantasy XIV announcement said, as reported by Kotaku. A statement signed by the members and staff of THE PRIMALS carried the same words, as reported by Nova Crystallis. His other band, Chirinuruwowaka, also announced his sudden passing on its official account.

Twelve years with THE PRIMALS

Iwai joined THE PRIMALS in 2014 as the band bassist and performed worldwide at Final Fantasy Fan Festivals. His final performance was at the Fan Festival held in Tokyo, Japan on November 1, 2026, days before his death. He played the same Tokyo stage earlier this month in front of the game fans, and no one in the hall that night had any sign that it would be his last show.

THE PRIMALS are led by Final Fantasy XIV composer Masayoshi Soken. The band also features Gunn on guitar, Tetsuya Tachibana on drums and Michael-Christopher Koji Fox on vocals. The group plays the music of the game live at Fan Festivals around the world, and Iwai held the bass part in that line-up for twelve years, from 2014 until his final performance on November 1, 2026.

Fans gather inside the game

Fans are gathering in memorials across multiple Final Fantasy XIV servers to remember Iwai, Kotaku reported. Players who heard his bass at Fan Festivals and in the game music met inside the world where that music plays every day. The memorials spread from server to server after the announcements on Wednesday, as word moved through the player community that the man behind the bass lines had died at 57.

A career built in Fukuoka

Iwai was born in Fukuoka, Japan. As a member of Chirinuruwowaka, which formed in 2005, he worked with artists including D[di:] and YUI. With that band he also worked on the games DaemonBride, from Team Arcana, and the Atelier series, from GUST. Chirinuruwowaka announced his passing on its official account on Wednesday, alongside the statements from Square Enix, the Final Fantasy XIV team and THE PRIMALS.

The announcements gave no cause of death and no further detail about what happened. What they recorded was a sudden loss, a final performance in Tokyo on November 1, 2026, and a bassist who had stood on Fan Festival stages worldwide since 2014. The memorials on the game servers continued through Wednesday.