For over a decade, Shinji Hashimoto was the brand director for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy. He has stepped down, and Yoshinori Kitase became his successor last month.
Kitase, of course, has had a storied career at Square Enix, working as director on Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X. More recently, he produced Final Fantasy VII Remake
The news was recently announced at the Final Fantasy XIV Digital Fan Festival. During this event, producer Naoki Yoshida thanked Hashimoto for supporting him and credited the exec for valuable contributions to all the Final Fantasy games over the past decade.
One of Hashimoto’s most memorable moments as brand director was at the PlayStation 4 press conference in 2013. He took the stage to announce one more bit of information. “I would also like to announce that we are preparing for the development of a Final Fantasy title,” he said. “Please be excited for E3 this year. Thank you much.” And with that, Hashimoto left the stage and created a meme.
The sixty-three-year-old Hashimoto isn’t leaving Square Enix, however, and will remain in an executive role.
