After an almost-30-year tenure at Capcom, Yoshinori Ono has announced his departure from the game company.

Ono is best-known for his work as a Producer on Street Fighter. He started out at Capcom in the 90s as a sound producer. Now, he resigns from his position as Executive Producer on Street Fighter and general Capcom Brand Manager.

Making the announcement via his twitter, he talked about his experience with the Capcom Pro Tour. Acknowledging community criticism of this year’s format, he says the grassroots-based approach was important to keep the event even.

“Needless to say, I understand there has been some criticism about this particular format”, he says. “However, I’m fully convinced that it is important to shed light on various hopes by keeping the event even this way”.

Giving Street Fighter The Push It Needed

Destructoid credits Ono as a driving force behind Street Fighter’s comeback in 2008. With Street Fighter IV, he lobbied hard for a back-to-basics approach for the game. According to their report, Capcom considered the franchise dead prior to the release of Street Fighter IV.

Ono himself addresses the growth of Street Fighter in the past decade, thanking the fans for their part in it. “I’ve been with the Street Fighter brand for a long time, experiencing good times, bad times, and non-existent times”, he said.  “My heart is filled with appreciation to those players who’ve been giving warm and kind support on the brand,”.

Today, Street Fighter can be considered one of Capcom’s most iconic franchises, with guest appearances in Super Smash Bros., Tekken and even non-fighting games like Monster Hunter World.

Before signing off with his signature “Shoryuken!” cry, Ono assured fans that the next generation at Capcom would take care of the Street Fighter brand. He also expressed his thanks to the fighting game community, as well as fans of the Street Fighter series.

Interested in picking up Street Fighter V? Read our review of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition here.