After twenty years of working with Square Enix, veteran Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura has announced that he will be leaving Square Enix on March 31 according to Gamerant. Ichimura has been a producer of Dragon Quest for almost two decades, starting with Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King in 2004. The last Dragon Quest game he will have a part in working on is Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, which will release worldwide in the fall.

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is set to be Ichimura’s last project at Square Enix, which he has left in the hands of his successor starting today according to Gematsu. That being said, Ichimura also noted that he has seen it through to near completion, assuring that he did not leave the project without making sure it was in good hands.

In terms of Ichimura’s future, he posted on Twitter his final goodbye to Square Enix. In a translation of the tweet provided by Gematsu, he says: 

“I’ve started to count how many more games I’ll be able to make in my lifetime,” said Ichimura, who turns 47 this year. Especially now, when it takes three to four years to make a game, “we have to carefully consider each title we make.” 

He continued, “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.”

It is fair to say that after nearly two decades of working on a single franchise, Ichimura is interested in pushing himself further to explore more of what he can do. While he seems very thankful of the time he has spent working on the Dragon Quest franchise, it seems as though he wishes to push himself to create more beyond the bubble he had cultivated over the last twenty years.

突然の報告になりますが、3/31をもちまして、スクウェア・エニックスを退職致しました。
色々な思いもあって長くなるので、添付のメモをご覧いただければと思います。
一緒に仕事してくれた たくさんのスタッフのみんな、そしてユーザーのみなさま、本当にありがとうございました！#スクエニ #卒業 pic.twitter.com/OQEthv83UC

— 市村 龍太郎 (@RyutaroIchimura) March 31, 2023