Former Dragon Quest Producer Ryutaro Ichimura Departs Square Enix Over 'Uninspired' Game Development

Ryutaro Ichimura, a renowned producer of the Dragon Quest series, revealed that he left Square Enix due to the company's emphasis on 'safe' and 'uninspired' game projects. Having joined Enix in 2000, Ichimura played a pivotal role in the development of several Dragon Quest titles, including Dragon Quest 8 and Dragon Quest 9. However, in an interview with ReHacQ, he expressed his dissatisfaction with Square Enix's approach, stating that the company was merely 'copying others' instead of innovating. Ichimura reflected on the series' history, noting that each installment introduced groundbreaking mechanics and leveraged the latest hardware. He felt that Dragon Quest was a pioneer in the RPG genre and aspired to create something entirely new. Nevertheless, with rising development costs, Ichimura believed that Square Enix became increasingly risk-averse, prioritizing established franchises and 'copycat' projects like Dragon Quest Builders and Dragon Quest Walk. When his proposal for a game that taught players about world-building and storytelling through interactive gameplay was rejected, Ichimura decided to leave the company. He has since founded PinCool, a new development studio backed by NetEase Games, in May 2023.