“The flame of my life is about to go out,” reads the message. “The fact that this message has been posted means that my time has finally come. I am no longer in this world. (I have entrusted someone important to me with this final message).”

“My life was a continuous battle which I kept winning. I caused a lot of trouble for others too. I take pride in having fought to the end, and having followed my convictions. I have no regrets, but I am deeply sorry that I could not deliver new works to my fans. I’m sorry. So it goes.”

Itagaki had worked with Koei Tecmo on a wide range of projects, from its classic Ninja Gaiden series to the Dead or Alive fighting games, as well as a host of different spin-offs. He had left the company a few years ago, announcing the founding of his own company, Valhalla Game Studios, which was also eventually dissolved before he founded Itagaki Games back in 2021. His focus with his own companies was to work on new IPs for PC and consoles.

He had originally joined Tecmo back in 1992 as a graphics programmer where he originally worked on Tecmo Super Bowl. The development of the first Dead or Alive game, which at the time was developed for the same arcade hardware as Virtua Fighter, is noted as being the first major breakthrough in his career.

In 2001, Itagaki had taken up the role of the leader of Team Ninja, and 2004 saw him becoming an executive officer of the company. Along with having worked on all mainline Dead or Alive games up to the release of Dead or Alive 4, Itagaki also worked on projects like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Super Swing Golf, and horror title Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly.

He also had a hand in the creation of Ninja Gaiden, which came about from his desire to develop a title that featured violent gameplay. This resulted in the release of Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox. He also worked further on the title to then release it as Ninja Gaiden Black, before eventually also making Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword on the Nintendo DS. He left Tecmo just before the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 in 2008, suing the company for withholding his bonus payments.

Itagaki is survived by his wife and daughter, the latter of whom he has credited as being a major inspiration behind the development of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. While he has worked on several titles throughout his life, the most recent game released with his name in the credits is Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time from 2020, where he served as the Supreme Advisor. Before this, Itagaki had also worked on 2015’s Devil’s Third as the director.

Tomonobu Itagaki is a name some younger fans may not recognize, but in the early 2000s, he was quite the star. He both created and directed several entries in the Dead or Alive fighting game franchise, which is ongoing to this day, and was most noted for reviving the Ninja Gaiden series as an action game that has become legendary and looks to be coming back soon. Now, he’s back, and he’s hoping to do something with an old partner.

Itagaki worked with Tecmo before they merged with Koei up until the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 on the Xbox 360. It was an interesting arrangement, as Itagaki had a relationship and preference to working with Microsoft on their Xbox consoles exclusively, which was outside the norm for a Japanese developer. On his Facebook, Itagaki transcribed part of a Bloomberg interview where he announced that he is forming a new studio, simply called Itagaki Games, and hopes to work with Microsoft once more. There’s no details on what he is working on, if anything at this point.

After leaving Tecmo, Itagaki formed an independent studio called Valhalla. There he worked on a game called Devil’s Third, which was stuck in development hell until Nintendo helped it over the finish line and released it on the Wii U. Since then, the studio has been quiet and he mentions here that he is no longer part of it, though does not go into details. Going by the tone of this post, it seems as if anything comes from Itagaki Games, it’s probably a good ways off.