Speaking at a Taiwanese event, FF15 director Hajime Tabata explained his departure and addressed the cancellation of Final Fantasy 15 DLC Dawn of the Future. Read on to know more.
FF15 Director Addresses His Exit and Canceled DLCs
Hajime Tabata Left Due to Differences with Square Enix’s President
In November 2018, Hajime Tabata resigned as president of Luminous Productions (a former Japanese game development studio and a subsidiary of Square Enix) and retired from Square Enix due to feeling constrained and being unable to pursue his creative vision. In December of the same year, he assembled a team of 15 development members, many of whom had contributed to the Final Fantasy series, and founded his own company, JP Games, Inc.
Tabata stated that his decision to leave Square Enix was influenced by differences in game philosophies between him and the company’s president. He said, "For the most part, there were differences between me and the president of Square Enix at the time, but of course the company would follow the president's policy, so I couldn't do what I thought I should do."
Canceling the DLC Was Not Tabata’s Decision and That It Was "Unavoidable"
Regarding the cancellation of planned DLC for Final Fantasy XV, Tabata expressed disappointment and clarified that the decision wasn't his to make. Despite the challenges, the personal frustration motivated him to create better games.
Tabata said he aims to take on new challenges with his team and make up for past disappointments by delivering new and interesting games to players. "The part I find disappointing is that the planned DLC has been canceled. We had a lot of additional content planned for FFXV, but in the end some of it had to be canceled. (But) at the time, it was really unavoidable."
Source:
Interview with JP Games Founder Tabata Hata, Building on FF's Development Experience, Challenging the Next Step in RPG Creation
Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata talks leaving Square Enix - and those cancelled DLCs
