Dragon Quest Games Producer Ryutaro Ichimura Leaves Square Enix

On March 31, 2023, Ryutaro Ichimura, producer of Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest IX, announced his departure from Square Enix on his personal Twitter account. In the lengthy message, the video game developer explained his trajectory on the Dragon Quest series and at Square Enix, alongside his reasons for leaving the company.

In a direct quote from his Twitter announcement, Ichimura said:

“I will be 47 years old this year, and I have started to count down how many more games I will be able to make in my lifetime. Since nowadays it takes 3 to 4 years to make one game, and in order to die without regrets, I have to think carefully about each game I make.”

Ichimura noted he thought carefully about his decision and ultimately chose to leave Square Enix to push himself into a higher-risk environment, and explore what could come out of it. Ichimura also cited wanting to be more free in his thinking and being able to enjoy himself more in his next projects.

In a melancholic anecdote, Ichimura also mentioned having found a copy of the resume he used to apply for Square Enix. He noted that the reason he wrote for wanting to join was “Because I love Dragon Quest.”

You can take a look at the full Japanese announcement in the tweet below.

突然の報告になりますが、3/31をもちまして、スクウェア・エニックスを退職致しました。
色々な思いもあって長くなるので、添付のメモをご覧いただければと思います。
一緒に仕事してくれた たくさんのスタッフのみんな、そしてユーザーのみなさま、本当にありがとうございました！#スクエニ #卒業 pic.twitter.com/OQEthv83UC

— 市村 龍太郎 (@RyutaroIchimura) March 31, 2023

Ryutaro Ichimura worked as the producer of Dragon Quest VIII, considered by many to be one of the best and most influential games in the series. In addition, Ichimura also acted as producer of Dragon Quest IX, which garnered a cult classic status among the fanbase, alongside producing the television game Kenshin Dragon Quest.

Other titles that Ichimura cited as having worked on include Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road, the mobile game Dragon Quest of the Stars, the Dragon Quest 30th anniversary project, the second Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai anime series, and the Chōsoku Henkei Gyrozetter series.