Toshimichi Mori, the creator of the Blazblue series has announced today that he has left developer Arc System Works after almost 20 years of service. He joined the company in 2003, initially working on the Guilty Gear series. He later went on to become the producer and designer of the Blazblue series, even serving as the primary illustrator on the earlier entries. Mori announced his departure via a statement on Twitter, but did not provide any particular reason for leaving the company.“I, Toshimichi Mori, have left Arc System Works after many years of service,” he wrote, according to VGC.“Having been involved in the development of Guilty Gear X at a company called Pickpak, I joined Arc System Works and after developing numerous fighting games, I was able to develop my masterpiece, BlazBlue, and have had the opportunity to have relationships with many users.“The many experiences I have had over the past 20 years since joining Arc System Works are the treasures of my life. I can only express my gratitude to the Arc System Works staff, the people who have helped me, and the users who have supported me. Thank you so, so much.
“I know this may cause anxiety, especially for BlazBlue users. I am truly sorry for this. I hope to be able to deliver more games to users in some form in the future, and I will do my best to achieve this. I would like to thank you in advance for your support.”
From his note it appears that Mori aims to stay in the video game industry, but hasn't specified what he'll be doing next.
Back in August, Guilty Gear Strive officially confirmed that one of its recurring characters, Bridget, is trans. Added to the game as part of the season two DLC, she has voice lines that confirm her trans identity. She used to earlier correct people who assumed she was female, but after a heartfelt discussion with Goldlewis and Ky about coming out, Bridget responds to Goldlewis saying calling her a cowgirl is fine, "Because... I'm a girl!"