"Xenosaga Episode I" was the debut game title of Japanese developer Monolith Soft. Company founder Tetsuya Takahashi acted as director and co-writer. Takahashi had previously worked at Square on the PlayStation RPG "Xenogears". Initially planned as a six-part series and despite there being concept work for a sequel, "Xenogears" was left as a standalone project while Square decided to focus on their established franchises such as "Final Fantasy". Another stated reason was that Square said they did not have the money available to invest in his concept. Following his departure from Square due to disagreeing with their strategy, Takahashi searched for another company which could help him create the game he and others from the "Xenogears" project envisioned. According to producer Hirohide Sugiura, most of the companies they contacted suggested forming Monolith Soft as an independent developer, with only Namco suggesting that they become a subsidiary, and was willing to both fund the production and manage the logistics and marketing, allowing Monolith Soft staff to focus solely on creating the game. Following this agreement, Namco helped in the development and marketing of the game. While production of the game began following the foundation of Monolith Soft in 2000, Takahashi had been working on the game's concept since 1999, intending it as a spiritual successor to "Xenogears" rather than a remake or sequel. Production at Monolith Soft took two years. The development budget apparently reached ¥1 billion—approximately US$7,700,000.