Final Fantasy 15 Director Hajime Tabata now Head of New Square Enix Studio

Square Enix has a new triple-A production studio, and Hajime Tabata, the director of Final Fantasy XV, is in charge of the operation. According to a press release distributed earlier today, Tabata is now the proud leader of Square Enix's fresh new Luminous Productions.

While it's not yet clear what the studio will be working on outside triple-A games, Luminous Productions is currently hiring, so if you're fluent in Japanese, now's your chance to get in on the ground floor. It'd be an opportunity to work with a talented developer: Tabata saved Final Fantasy XV when it was flailing feebly as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Granted, not everyone loves Final Fantasy XV, but there's no denying Tabata's competence.

At GDC 2017, Tabata told Polygon he'd love to make a large-scale game based around a whole new IP. "I think it’s gonna be a very large-scale project based around everything we learned and developed for Final Fantasy XV," he said.

Does this mean Tabata is finally excused from Final Fantasy XV's seemingly endless development cycle? Will momentum carry the team through the rest of the year? Maybe he left the team with a stack of crazy costume crossover ideas before brushing off his hands, nodding, and moving on. Good luck, Mr Tabata.