Veteran Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura has announced he will be leaving Square Enix after nearly 20 years working with the iconic JRPG developer. While not as widely recognized as its counterparts in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, the series with art by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama has been a mainstay for Square Enix. The RPG franchise has seen 11 main-series entries and a multitude of spinoffs spanning all different genres, from monster tamers to Minecraft-inspired games and more. Now, one of its biggest producers is departing the franchise.Ryutaro Ichimura's first credited appearance with Square Enix dates back nearly two decades as a producer for Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King. Since his first appearance with the franchise, Ichimura has been a mainstay of Dragon Quest acting as a producer on nearly every main-series Dragon Quest game and several spinoffs. Most recently, Ichimura was chief producer for the upcoming Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, set for a worldwide release this Fall. Now, Ichimura has confirmed it would be his final project with Square Enix.Ichimura announced on Friday through his Twitter that he would be leaving Square Enix as of March 31st. The producer was grateful for his time with Square Enix after having worked for nearly two decades as a main figurehead on the Dragon Quest franchise. Ichimura confirmed he had already handed off Infinity Strash to his successor, though he did state he had "overseen it to near-completion" during his time at the studio. Despite his departure, Ichimura did express his continued interest in game development, intending to keep creating games after leaving Square Enix.
Ichimura leaving Square Enix would not be the first time since the start of 2023 a major figure in the Dragon Quest franchise has departed from the developer. Producer Ryota Aomi announced earlier this year he would be leaving Square Enix after 10 years with the developer, mainly working on the Dragon Quest Heroes spinoff. Similarly to Ichimura, Aomi confirmed he would be continuing to work in game development, though he did not name his studio at the time.
The departure of Ichimura comes as many fans are anxiously waiting for more news about Dragon Quest 12. The game has seen surprisingly few updates since its initial reveal in May 2021 with an official release date for the game still unconfirmed. Fans have also grown concerned for the development of the Dragon Quest game following recent statements from Square Enix expressing interest in blockchain-focused games. While the Dragon Quest faithful continue to wait for news about the next game, they will say goodbye to a longstanding face of the franchise.
Source: Gematsu