A much-beloved Square Enix producer has announced their retirement.
Square Enix game producer and Final Fantasy brand manager Shinji Hashimoto has recently announced his retirement from his post on his official Twitter account following 30 years with the company.
Aside from being Final Fantasy's brand manager and producer, Hashimoto is also the co-creator of Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts series.
Hashimoto's Retirement Details
皆様、お疲れ様です。本日5月31日（火）をもちまして定年退職することになりました。在職中は多方面の皆々様方々には大変お世話になりました。これからは、一スクエニファンとして応援させて頂きたいと思います。本当にありがとうございました。 pic.twitter.com/yIj89uvh8x
— shinji hashimoto (@shinjihashimot3) May 31, 2022
Hashimoto mentioned in his announcement, which was written in Japanese, that he decided to retire from his post at Square Enix due to him entering retirement age and that he will support the company not as an employee but as its fan, per The Gamer's translation.
"I had worked with many people from various fields during my tenure," Hashimoto said in his tweet. "From here on, I'd like to support Square Enix as a fan. Thank you very much."
Hashimoto was born on May 24, 1958, making him 64 years old at the time of his retirement.
Although the consensus in Japan states that male employees must retire at 60 or 65, as Ogle Tree and Nippon mentioned, companies in Japan can set their own retirement age by contract, which is generally set from 65 to 70 years old.
Hashimoto's retirement marks an end of an era for Square Enix as he was one of the few remaining employees to witness the original Final Fantasy VII's rise to popularity.
Hashimoto started his employment under Square Soft, Square Enix's former name, in 1995, according to IGN, with his first Square Enix project being Front Mission, a tactical role-playing game developed by G-Craft and published by Square Soft, per the producer's IMDb page.
G-Craft was eventually purchased by Square Soft in 2001 and became the company's sixth development division, per the Front Mission Fandom.
Hashimoto then became the brand manager for the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, with his first Final Fantasy game being the original Final Fantasy VII.
He eventually became one of the producers for Final Fantasy VIII and has been the franchise's game producer ever since. He also acted as the producer of the Kingdom Hearts franchise up until its fourth installment. In fact, he was the one who came up with the core concept of the Kingdom Hearts franchise before Final Fantasy director Tetsuya Nomura joined in on the project, per Comicbook Gaming.
Fan Reaction To Hashimoto's Retirement
橋本さん、おつかれさまでした！@shinjihashimot3 pic.twitter.com/eSX8vLoKks
— 板鼻利幸Toshiyuki Itahana (@ItahanaT) May 31, 2022
Hashimoto's announcement was received by numerous Square Enix fans, who showed their gratitude for his contribution to their favorite franchises through their replies to his announcement. Some fans even talked about his importance to Square Enix's franchises like Final Fantasy, SaGa, Kingdom Hearts, and many more.
Square Enix illustrator Toshiyuki Itahana even drew and tweeted a picture of Hashimoto with a Moogle and a Chocobo to celebrate the former producer's retirement, thanking him for his contribution in the tweet's caption.
