Dragon Quest chief producer Ryutaro Ichimura has announced his departure from Square Enix as of today, March 31.
He shared the announcement on Twitter with the following words:
“I’ve started to count how many more games I’ll be able to make in my lifetime,” he commented. Ichimura-san added that as it takes three to four years to develop games nowadays, “we have to carefully consider each title we make. Once I can reset and reflect, I’d like to leave this blessed environment, and explore what can be made if I dare to push myself into a higher-risk environment.
Ichimura-san has worked on a wealth of entries in the Dragon Quest series, including serving as producer on Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, chief producer on Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Blow, and more recently producer on Dragon Quest of the Stars.
[Source – Ryutaro Ichimura on Twitter]