Square Enix announced Hajime Tabata, director of Final Fantasy Type-0, will be replacing Tetsuya Nomura as the director of Final Fantasy XV.
The decision was made to lighten the workload on Nomura, who works at the company as a character designer, producer, and director on other projects, in particular Kingdom Hearts III.
In a press release, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda said:
“In reviewing our development structure, we have decided to assign Hajime Tabata as the new director for Final Fantasy XV. Currently, Tabata and the entire development team are working, whole-heartedly, towards completing the production of Final Fantasy XV and ensuring the delivery of the highest quality Final Fantasy title to date. We invite every one of our fans to view the fruits of our labor through Final Fantasy XV’s demo, and promise to present a game that further surpasses expectations when the finished product is released.
As the director of Final Fantasy XV, Tetsuya Nomura has mainly worked on the original concept for the story and universe in addition to creating the characters. Hereafter, he will be focusing his efforts on the production of titles that can only be made possible by Nomura, himself, and delivering products that exceed the quality of past titles, starting with another one of his representative projects, Kingdom Hearts III. Square Enix will continue to work on these titles with the best staff formation in an effort to deliver them to everyone as soon as possible and appreciates your continued support.”
Overall, this comes as good news for both Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III. From the sounds of it, Nomura may have been spread too thin, possibly resulting in the long production time on Final Fantasy XV, which was announced back in 2006. The project is now in very capable hands with Tabata, whose Final Fantasy Type-0, arguably the best Final Fantasy game of the last several years.
Let us know your thoughts on Nomura’s departure in the comments below.
Source: Kotaku