Today, Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono announced via a message on Twitter that he is leaving the franchise and Capcom after nearly 30 years. The message also contained his thoughts on the criticism to the changes made to the Capcom Pro Tour, which in the wake of COVID-19 has moved entirely online.
In his statement, he first acknowledged criticism leveled at the Capcom Pro Tour and the move to online matches. “It took a long time for us to decide the format for this year, but we believe that conducting the event itself would repay those who has (sic) been supporting the CPT, regardless of what format it is.”
After that, he announced his plans to leave Capcom. “And now, after serving almost 30 years at Capcom, I am leaving the company in (sic) this summer. This means that I will resign my position as the brand manager for Capcom’s various titles including Street Fighter.”
Ono originally joined Capcom back in the 90s and worked on various franchises including Mega Man, Dead Rising, and Devil May Cry. But most know him for his work with the Street Fighter franchise, where he helped revitalize the fighting game series with 2008's Street Fighter 4.
Ono ended his Twitter statement with hope and excitement for the future of Street Fighter saying “I will look forward to seeing the new Street Fighter brand and how it’s going to be expanded, as just one of the regular gamers next time around.”