Yoshinori Ono, one of Capcom’s longest-tenured employees has announced that he will be leaving the company after nearly 30 years. Ono states that he will officially depart on May 1 and join another studio, Delightworks. Ono is well known for his work on the Street Fighter franchise and was integral to its resurgence in the gaming community in 2008. Since then he has helmed the series all the way to the current iteration, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
In a statement made on the post, Ono thanked not just the Street Fighter fan base, but the entire fighting game community for their support over the years. “I may be away from the FGC for a while, but I’m looking forward to spending time with you again when I get the chance. I appreciate your continuing support.” Ono’s phrasing makes it sound as if he is not going to be working on any type of fighting game in the foreseeable future.
This point is also emphasized by his new employer, Delightworks. The studio is the main developer for one of the most successful mobile games on the market, Fate/Grand Order, the complete opposite of any type of fighting game. Ono’s new job will have him take on two major titles, the Chief Operating Officer, and President of the entire studio. Considering his new big job titles, it looks like Ono will be handling the day-to-day operations on a whole different level than when he was at Capcom.
As we mentioned earlier, Ono was incredibly instrumental in the revival of Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise in the late 2000s. Acting as the main producer for Street Fighter IV, Ono and his team dedicated themselves to bringing in a new age of Street Fighter, with a new look but one that felt just as good as the previous entries. This idea worked, and the game went onto be critically acclaimed, with the later iterations also being well received with new updates and characters.
From that point on, Ono would essentially become Capcom’s public face for all things Street Fighter and would become the Executive Producer for all future entries. Despite his leaving Capcom, Yoshinori Ono will forever remain an important fixture in the history of Street Fighter.