Tomonobu Itagaki, the influential and outspoken creator of the Dead or Alive and modern Ninja Gaiden series, has died at the age of 58. The news was confirmed by a farewell message posted to the legendary game developer’s official Facebook page.
The posthumously published message, translated from Japanese, reads: “The light of my life is about to run out. The fact that this sentence has been posted means it’s finally time. I’m no longer in this world… My life has been a series of battles, and we have stayed winning. I’ve caused a lot of trouble. I stand by my beliefs and I own it. No regrets. I just feel so sorry to all my fans for not being able to deliver my new work. Sorry. It is what it is. So it goes.”
Itagaki began his career at Tecmo (now Koei Tecmo) in 1992, first working on the American football game Tecmo Super Bowl. His career skyrocketed with the creation of the 3D fighting game Dead or Alive in 1996. He went on to lead Team Ninja, one of Tecmo’s key internal studios, where he directed popular sequels Dead or Alive 2 and Dead or Alive 3, along with the controversial but successful spinoff Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
In 2004, he cemented his legacy by rebooting the Ninja Gaiden franchise for the Xbox. The title was a critical and commercial success, celebrated for its challenging, fast-paced action. Itagaki left Tecmo in 2008, just before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2, after filing a lawsuit against the company over what he claimed were unpaid bonuses.
His later career was less prolific. After founding Valhalla Game Studios, he directed the 2015 action-adventure title Devil’s Third, which was met with largely negative reviews. At the time of his death, Itagaki was developing an unannounced project.
The news was met with shock in the gaming industry. In a reply to the Facebook post, fellow fighting game developer Katsuhiro Harada of the Tekken series wrote, “You’re kidding, Itagaki-san, you said we should go for drinks next time.”
