The Idolmaster general producer Youzou Sakagami steps down
No plans to appoint new general producer at this time.
Youzou Sakagami will step down as general producer of The Idolmaster series at Bandai Namco Entertainment at the end of March, he announced.
Sakagami has been involved in The Idolmaster series for the past 18 years, from the very first game for arcade, to sequential developments such as console and mobile games, concerts, and anime.
According to Sakagami, he originally considered stepping down as The Idolmaster reached its 15th anniversary in 2020, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, various plans were changed, delayed, and suspended, so he decided to stay on board until things settled down. And as the series has now finally regained stability, it is his time to depart.
Sakagami did not share his plans for the future.
In a separate message, 765 Production general manager Kouji Hatano stated that Bandai Namco currently has no plans to appoint a new general producer, and that work on The Idolmaster series will move forward in unison.
As for the future of The Idolmaster, Bandai Namco recently announced its intellectual property axis strategy “PROJECT IM@S 3.0 VISION” for the 20th anniversary of the series in 2025 and beyond.