Game director and character designer Toshiyuki Itahana announced today that he has left Square Enix. He is best known for his work on Final Fantasy IX, on which he served as a character designer. Most of his more recent contributions have been to various projects for Final Fantasy XIV. According to the post, Itahana’s last project with the company was on the 25th anniversary celebrations for Final Fantasy IX, which ran throughout most of 2025.
Itahana’s departure has led many to wonder how the news may affect a potential Final Fantasy IX remake. Remake hopes were especially high throughout 2025 as Square Enix announced it would be holding a year-long celebration of Final Fantasy XI to commemorate the game’s 25th-year anniversary. Fans were convinced that if Square Enix were to ever announce the remake, 2025 would be the year. Now, as we enter 2026 with no developments on that front and with a key member of the original game’s development leaving the company, more and more are convinced the remake is never coming.
This wouldn’t be the first Final Fantasy IX project to be cancelled in recent years. Previously, a cartoon series was in development that would follow Vivi’s six children and their adventures in the world of Gaia. That project was binned when the studio behind it was forced to close its doors. However, recently new rumours have been stirring that the cartoon series may be making a comit’seback under a different studio, though no details have emerged as of yet.
Rumours of a Final Fantasy IX remake first gained traction after a massive Nvidia GeForce NOW leak revealed the project was scheduled for release on the game streaming service. Although Square Enix has yet to confirm this rumour, to date, seven of the eight games mentioned in that leak have been released or have been confirmed to be in development.
In the announcement post, Itahana will continue to do design work as a freelancer.
