It was announced at the recent virtual Final Fantasy Fan Festival that Square Enix veteran Shinji Hashimoto is stepping down from his role as Final Fantasy brand manager, a title he has held for over a decade. He will be replaced by Yoshinori Kitase. Hashimoto has been at Square Enix for nearly three decades, during which time he has been heavily involved in Final Fantasy, serving as producer on a vast number of games in the series starting with the late 90s.
Kitase, meanwhile, is a name that series fans will be very familiar with. As the director of Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, and Final Fantasy 8, he has been in charge of some of the most beloved games in the series. He’s also been heavily involved with the development of a number of Final Fantasy instalments across various roles such as producer and writer, including Final Fantasy 10, Final Fantasy 10-2, the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy, and Final Fantasy 14. Most recently, h was also the lead producer on Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Hashimoto also took to Twitter to share a message about his stepping down from the role, where he added that he will still continue to work behind-the-scenes at Square Enix.
There’s plenty of Final Fantasy content to look forward to in the near future as well. Final Fantasy 14 is releasing for PS5 later this month, and its next expansion, Endwalker, is releasing in November. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is also in development, while Final Fantasy 16 is also in the works for PS5.