One of the longest-tenured developers at Arc Systems Works will no longer be part of the studio. Toshimich Mori announced via his Twitter, in Japanese, that he will be officially leaving Arc System Works after nearly 20 years. Mori is well known in the fighting game community as the main producer and creator of one of the most beloved fighting game franchises in the community, BlazBlue. He did not give a specific reason as to why he was leaving the studio he called home for so many years, but he did offer some kind words in regard to his experiences while working there.
Mori also added to this statement on how this might cause some unrest for the BlazBlue fandom. “I know this may cause anxiety, especially for BlazBlue users. I am truly sorry for this.” Mori said. This more than likely alludes to the lingering hope that there would be more BlazBlue titles in the foreseeable future, despite the last entry, BlazBlue Central Fiction, being the final mainline release for the franchise for Arc System Works. Now that Mori will no longer be with the studio, the chances of seeing a newer entry are even slimmer than before.
Mori joined Arc System Works in 2003, working on the various updates and sequels in the famous Guilty Gear franchise. However, he became a household name in the fighting game community in 2008 when his own project BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was released as one of Arc System Works newest IPs. The title was well received and has since become a mainstay within the community on an international level. It spawned three sequels, which were essentially updated versions of the base game and newer fighters. The series was concluded with the aforementioned Central Fiction in 2016, while a spin-off, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, released in 2018 which also involved fighters from the Persona and RWBY franchises.