Square Enix reportedly shakes up one of its most underrated JRPG series by removing a Dragon Quest veteran of 22 years, with Nier Automata's producer tipped to take over

Dragon Quest's series producer is reportedly stepping down from the role, and Nier's series producer could possibly replace him.

Citing several sources, Bloomberg reports that Yu Miyake, who has helmed numerous Dragon Quest titles in a producer role since 1992, is stepping down from the lead role. This is apparently due to several delays surrounding Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate, the next mainline entry in the long-running JRPG franchise, announced in 2021.

Miyake will reportedly head up Square Enix's smartphone games development division instead. Aside from Dragon Quest 12's delays, the reorganization effort reportedly comes from new Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu looking to shake up Square Enix's development pipeline, relying less on external developers and more on in-house studios to create hit games.

Square Enix currently outsources production on numerous games to external studios. Visions of Mana, for example, is being developed externally by Ouka Studios, a development studio currently owned by NetEase. Square Enix and Kiryu's new outlook would apparently aim to reduce these external development projects. 

I'm thrilled to announce that our studio is developing Visions of Mana!The Mana series is one of most favorite series, so I will do my best as a Director!#VisionsofManaMarch 28, 2024

Elsewhere, the Bloomberg report claims that Nier series producer Yosuke Saito is a top candidate to replace Miyake in the Dragon Quest series producer role. Saito has already worked on the Dragon Quest series, in fact, acting as an executive producer on 2017's Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age, as well as numerous other Square Enix games like Babylon's Fall and Final Fantasy 14's Nier Raid series.

According to the Bloomberg report, Miyake's reassignment has already come into effect, as of earlier this week on Monday. There's currently no timetable for his replacement to step into the role, however, nor is there a potential release window or date for Dragon