Yozo Sakagami, or “Gami-P,” has retired from his position as the executive producer for the The Idolmaster franchise. His retirement will go into effect from the end of March 2023. In a letter to his fans on the official The Idolmaster website, he explains his reasoning for his sudden retirement, as well as thanks all of the players who have played and enjoyed the game series. [Thanks, Denfaminico!]
Sakagami has worked on The Idolmaster for 18 years. But he had planned on leaving three years earlier in 2020. This is because if he had retired in 2020, then he could’ve left after working on the series for 15 years, which was a fairly good number. But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed or completely obliterated certain plans and projects that they had been working on.
As he continues in the letter, Executive Producer Sakagami discussed all of his memories with The Idolmaster. He stated that he was impressed when he saw the passion of the players for the arcade version of the game and thanks everyone for their support over the years. He concluded his letter with stating that he will watch over everyone—from the fans to the staff for The Idolmaster—as they walk towards their future. For the time being, there will be no executive producer to replace him just yet.
The Idolmaster is a long-running series with several games over multiple platforms. As of the time of writing, its most recent mobage is Shiny Colors. An anime adaptation of Shiny Colors will air some time during Q2 2024.
