Final Fantasy producer Tanaka quits Square Enix

Final Fantasy designer Hiromichi Tanaka has quit as senior VP of software development at Square Enix.

Tanaka, who has been a mainstay at the company for almost 30 years, announced his resignation at Vana Fest 2012.

The industry veteran said he had decided to leave the studio for health reasons as he was suffering from a “major illness”.

He also said he wanted to create his own games as an independent developer.

As well as working on game design for the early Final Fantasy titles, Tanka later became a producer at Square Enix, overseeing games such as Secret of Mana, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy XI.

Akihiko Matsui will replace Tanaka as producer at the company.