Final Fantasy Versus XIII Director Leaves Square Enix

A batch of key staff members have left their positions at developer and publisher Square Enix, it has been revealed. Including the departures is one of the graphic directors for PlayStation 3 exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Takeshi Arakawa served as the texture director for Kingdom Hearts, the supervising director of Dissidia FF, and arguably his more significant role in the form of a director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. He was the lead graphic director for the system menu on the action role-playing game.

Arakawa wasn't the only want to leave Square Enix, though, which apparently occurred last year (via Nova Crystallis). Ryuji Ikeda, Dissidia Final Fantasy's main programmer has departed. Also leaving the company is Shouta Shimoda, who served as Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy's planning director in regards to RPG components, as well as working on AI tuning on Dissidia FF.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII's development has been in turmoil ever since its E3 2006 reveal with fans wondering if the title would ever see the light of day. While we have seen media for the game, such as this trailer, they've only been released on rare occasions with said trailer unveiled back in 2009.

With the game shrouded in mystery, Square Enix has, however, reassured fans that the overdue PlayStation 3 exclusive is still alive and kicking. Not so long ago, one of the company's Twitter accounts stated news will be revealed on the title soon. However, as they pointed out, "soon" can hold different meanings.