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Dragon Quest Builders Game Series Director Kazuya Nino Leaves Square Enix
posted on by Alex Mateo
Kazuya Nino, director of Square Enix's Dragon Quest Builders game series, revealed on Friday that he has left Square Enix following the completed development of Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Dragon Quest Builders 2: Hakaigami Shidō to Karappo no Shima). Nino said his next step is already decided, and he is planning to share more information next week. He confirmed that he will continue to develop games.
Nino had been at Square Enix for seven years. He stated that he had felt a little burned out from his work on Dragon Quest Builders 2 and departed for a new development environment to try a development cycle different from Square Enix's.
Nino plans to continue watching over Dragon Quest Builders 2 and work as external staff for Square Enix. However, he noted that Dragon Quest Builders 2 will receive no additional DLC or updates.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 shipped for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on July 12 in North America and Europe, and launched in December 2018 in Japan.
Square Enix released the first Dragon Quest Builders "sandbox action RPG" on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in January 2016 in Japan. Square Enix released the first game in North America and Europe on the PS4 (digitally and physically) and PS Vita (digital only) in October 2016. The game received a release on the Nintendo Switch in North America on February 9 and in Japan on March 1.
At Square Enix, Nino also served as an assistant director for the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn MMORPG.
