Brotaku

Shinji Hashimoto, a former producer at Square Enix, has joined Sony Group. Hashimoto-san will work with both Sony Music Entertainment, where he will serve as a senior advisor, and ForwardWorks, where he will serve as a board member. No other details were revealed. Hashimoto-san also claimed that it would be some time before he could share what he is working on.

Hashimoto-san was at Square Enix for 28 years during which he served as the executive producer for the Kingdom Hearts series and the brand manager for the Final Fantasy series. Hashimoto-san’s last role was corporate advisor for Square Enix Holdings. He announced his retirement from Square Enix earlier in June 2022.

Sony Music Entertainment has published several games including the Kowloon’s Gate series and The Midnight Sanctuary. Sony Music Entertainment also manages Aniplex, Sony’s largest producer of anime content and the publisher of Fate/Grand Order. ForwardWorks is Sony’s in-house mobile game development studio, it co-developed Disgaea RPG and recently entered into a partnership with Kadokawa for a new mobile game.

Here’s what Hashimoto-san had to say:

Apologies for so many personal posts, but I wanted to share some news that from today I have started work as both a senior advisor at Sony Music Entertainment, as well as a board member at their subsidiary, ForwardWorks.

At my previous role, I had always been supported both by others in the industry, as well as by countless fans, and I would like to continue to focus my efforts into the creation of entertainment. I am turning over a new leaf, per se, but it might be a bit of time before I can share exactly what I am working on in these new roles. When it seems like the time is right, I will be sure to share an update with you all.

It’s going to be a new adventure for me as I get a bit older at 64 years old, but as always I appreciate everyone’s support. For those reading this around the world, please give me some time to share more. To all of the creative minds out there, I look forward to working with you!