Post
The Square Enix veteran who directed Final Fantasy VI, VII, and VIII — and is now producing the multi-game FF7 Remake series.
Joined Square in 1990 and directed Final Fantasy VI (1994), Final Fantasy VII (1997), and Final Fantasy VIII (1999) — three of the franchise's most influential entries. Now serves as the head of Square Enix's Creative Business Unit I and is the producer of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series (Remake 2020, Rebirth 2024, third entry in development). Heavily involved in keeping the FF7 lineage cohesive across compilation projects spanning two decades.
Example
The Final Fantasy VII Remake project is structured as three full-size games covering the original 1997 game's story — a multi-year, ~$200M+ production decision made under Kitase that has divided fans and reshaped how Japanese publishers think about remake scope.
Why it matters
Kitase is the connective tissue of the modern Final Fantasy franchise. The Remake project is one of the most ambitious remake efforts in industry history, and its commercial trajectory will determine how publishers approach legacy IP scope.
Related concepts