Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Producer Shinji Hashimoto Retires After 30 Years With Square Enix
Game producer Shinji Hashimoto announced today that he has retired from Square Enix after almost 30 years with the company.
Hashimoto started at Square Soft in 1995 and was the brand manager for both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises.
“Thank you, everyone. I will retire on May 31st (Tuesday) today. During my tenure, I am very grateful to all of you in various fields,” Hashimoto announced on Twitter. “From now on, I would like to support you as a Square Enix fan. I’m really thankful to you.”
皆様、お疲れ様です。本日5月31日（火）をもちまして定年退職することになりました。在職中は多方面の皆々様方々には大変お世話になりました。これからは、一スクエニファンとして応援させて頂きたいと思います。本当にありがとうございました。 pic.twitter.com/yIj89uvh8x
— shinji hashimoto (@shinjihashimot3) May 31, 2022
He also posted a video message on Twitter, saying that he enjoyed his time traveling across the world and attending different kinds of events. In recent years, however, he stopped going to them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While he would have liked to visit everyone in the wake of announcing his retirement, he had to opt for a video message instead.
Even though he’s leaving Square Enix, he’ll still continue to enjoy video games and play Square Enix titles. Additionally, Hashimoto says that if anyone spots him in public at events, he’ll be happy to take photos with them.
“Now, I’ll be leaving the company in high spirits,” he explains. “But I will continue to be around and involved in entertainment, so please be assured. To everyone around the world, I hope you will continue to support Square Enix titles.”
To celebrate Hashimoto’s retirement, Square Enix illustrator Toshiyuki Itahana drew a picture of him with a Moogle and a Chocobo.
橋本さん、おつかれさまでした！@shinjihashimot3 pic.twitter.com/eSX8vLoKks
— 板鼻利幸 Toshiyuki Itahana (@ItahanaT) May 31, 2022
Square Enix recently sold off its western division to the Embracer Group and is currently working on projects such as Kingdom Hearts 4 and Final Fantasy XVI.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey
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