Video Game Designer and founder of the Koei Techmo-owned studio Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, has passed away at the age of 58. This news was shared via his Facebook page, in a post entitled Words to Leave, according to the English translation of the page done by its internal translator. The note itself 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.
(This last post is for someone special to me. )
My life has been a series of battles. We stayed winning.
I’ve caused a lot of trouble.
I stand by my beliefs and I owe it.
No regrets.
I just feel so sorry to all my fans that I can’t deliver my new work sorry
It is what it is.
So it goes.
Itagaki was born in Tokyo in 1967, graduating from Waseda University in 1992, having attended its school of law, from which he graduated from. He would later join Tecmo in 1992 as a graphic designer. In 1996, he created Dead or Alive, a technically impressive 3D fighting game which was made to compete with SEGA’s popular Virtua Fighter, at the behest of Tecmo management. In 2001, Itagaki was made the head of Tecmo Creative #3, which was formed in 1995, with the team being named Team Ninja in 1999 to give the team a sense of identity under the Tecmo banner.
As part of Team Ninja, Itegaki worked on several games, including his continued work on the Dead or Alive fighting franchise, as well as a Reboot of the classic Ninja Gaiden series of action games. He also created the controversial spin-off to Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach, which focused on the already sexualized female characters on a volleyball-centered vacation. Prior to the release of Ninja Gaiden II, he announced his departure from Team Ninja, amid a lawsuit aimed at Tecmo management, whom he claimed withheld bonuses from him for previous work. He then joined VGS Japan for the development of Devil’s Third, which was released as a WII U exclusive in 2015 to near universal panning. Itagaki had announced the formation of Itagaki Games in 2021, his new studio, though no games have been released from the studio.
As stated in his final note, Tomonobu Itagaki was a conduit for controversy as well, having had a frank personality, being quick to criticize games for mechanics he doesn’t like, such as QTE button prompts. He was also very critical of Namco’s fighting series, Tekken, stemming from a radio commercial for the game that took aim at Dead or Alive. In 2006, he was accused of sexual misconduct with an unnamed female employee at Techmo, who claimed he made unwanted sexual advances on her. Itagaki would be found innocent in a Japanese court in 2007, though both were demoted internally for mixing “personal affairs with their corporate responsibilities”.
Team Ninja is currently developing a remake of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, which is set to release in 2026, a title in which Tomonobu Itagaki served as a Special Advisor in 2004. The studio is also co-developing Ninja Gaiden 4, releasing later this month, in conjunction with Platinum Games.
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