Team Ninja founder and Dead or Alive creator, Tomonobu Itagaki, has sadly passed away at the age of 58.
Itagaki-san’s passing was confirmed on his Facebook page, which posted the following message after he passed away. A translation of the post reads:
The light of my life is finally fading. The fact that this message has been posted means that the time has finally come. I am no longer in this world (I’m asking a loved one to make this final post). My life has been a series of battles. I kept winning. I’ve caused a lot of trouble, too. I’m proud to say that I followed my beliefs and fought to the end. I have no regrets. However, I’m filled with regret that I wasn’t able to deliver a new work to all my fans. I’m sorry. That’s just how it is. So it goes.
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James Mielke, former games journalist and co-founder of BitSummit, posted on BlueSky that him and Itagaki were extremely close, describing the Dead or Alive creator as “truly like a brother to me.”
Today I lost someone who was truly like a brother to me. I am gutted to the core. I guess I can say so now that it’s on his Facebook page. He even listed himself as my actual brother on Facebook. Anyone who knows me knows how close we were. RIP, senpai. You will always be a ninja.
Known for his perpetual sunglasses, Itagaki served as producer and director on the first three Dead or Alive games and also worked on Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball before moving onto Ninja Gaiden, which served as a hugely successful reboot of the classic franchise. He also directed Devil’s Third and his last created was as supreme advisor on 2020’s Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time.
Prior to his death, Itagaki was working on a new project at the newly-established Itagaki Games, and had commented he was interested in working with Microsoft again. It later transpired that the untitled project was targeting both PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.
[Source – Tomonobu Itagaki Facebook via VGC]