Final Fantasy veteran departs Square Enix after 20 years

Japanese video game producer Hiromichi Tanaka, whose most prominent work includes Final Fantasy XI, has left Square Enix after 20 years at the company.

Since joining Square in 1983, Tanaka has also helped design the first three Final Fantasy titles and served as producer on Xenogears and Chrono Cross.

At the Vana Fest 2012 event over the weekend, Tanaka revealed that he's moving on to tend to his own projects, according to Famitsu (and translated by Andriasang).

While Tanaka was not specific, he did say he's also currently suffering from an illness.

Square Enix director Akihiko Matsui is taking over as FFXI's producer with Tanaka's blessing. Matsui will now focus on both FFXI and XIV.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[Gamasutra]