Kicking off the new year with some bittersweet news, legendary Final Fantasy character designer Toshiyuki Itahana has announced that he left Square Enix at the end of 2025. Known for his work on Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, Itahana revealed the news on his personal blog that explains some of his decision for stepping away from the company. “I felt this was the right moment to draw a line under this chapter and take on new challenges,” he stated.
Reminiscing about how last year marked the 25th anniversary of FFIX, Itahana said he is grateful to see so many fans still celebrating the final PS1 entry in the long-running series. His first game with Square Enix, Itahana had been with the company for a little over 25 years, so this feels like the true closing of a long chapter in his life. “With the illustration work and supervision related to the 25th anniversary now complete,” he wrote, “I feel a strong sense of accomplishment in having fulfilled the role entrusted to me.”
As for what’s next, Itahana states he will be continuing to pursue character design work in a freelance capacity. “While remaining deeply grateful for all the connections I’ve been fortunate to receive through my work so far, I hope to draw upon my experience and continue creating a wide variety of new artwork,” he said. He then thanked not only his co-workers and superiors, but all of his fans for allowing him to create artwork for so long.
Itahana was a central figure in Final Fantasy for so long that it is sad to see him go. At the same time, everyone needs a change of pace from time to time, so I’m happy he was able to leave on his own terms.
Check out more Final Fantasy content
Final Fantasy XIV director tells fans to ‘look forward’ to MMO on Switch
Final Fantasy VII Remake Switch 2 demo proves what the hardware is capable of in the right hands
Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director hopes players can one day accept Game-Key Cards
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
