Legendary developer Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden 2004, has died

Tomonobu Itagaki, the legendary creator of the Dead or Alive series and the creative mind behind the 2004 version of Ninja Gaiden, has died at the age of 58.

The news was shared on his personal Facebook page and independently confirmed by members of the development community. The cause of death has not been specified.

The elegant Facebook post was written by Itagaki to be shared in the event of his death.

Words to leave

The light of my life is about to go out.

The fact that this sentence was published means that it is finally time. I am no longer of this world.

(This last message asks me to someone special)

My life has been a series of battles. We remained winners.

I caused a lot of trouble.

I remain true to my convictions and I must.

No regrets.

I’m really sorry to all my fans for not being able to deliver my new work. Sorry.

That’s how it is.

So it goes.

Banobu Itagaki

Always wearing his signature sunglasses no matter the venue, Itagaki was a legendary presence on the Japanese development scene. He joined Tecmo in 1992 and became head of its development team, Team Ninja. He was producer and director of the first seven Dead or Alive games and has advised on other Tecmo titles.

After leaving the company in 2008, following the launch of Ninja Gaiden 2, he founded Valhalla Game Studios and released Devil’s Third in 2015 and the 3DS title Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon in 2016. Valhalla closed in 2021 and he launched Itagaki Games, which had not yet released a title.

His departure from Tecmo was acrimonious, as our own Brandon Sheffield recounted in 2018. He sued the company and its president for unpaid bonuses, and later said the company tricked him into releasing the PS2 version of Dead or Alive 2, which he claimed caused him to fall into an alcoholic depression. In 2006, another Tecmo employee named him in sexual harassment allegations, although Tecmo refuted the allegations following an internal investigation.

Never one to shy away from the limelight, he brought his characteristic panache to Valhalla Games and was an outspoken presence throughout the development and launch of Devil’s Third.

Other developers shared their grief and memories of Itagaki on social media. James Mielke, co-founder of BitSummit, wrote: “Today I lost someone who was truly like a brother to me. I am gutted to the core… He even listed himself as my real brother on Facebook. Anyone who knows me knows how close we were. RIP, senpai. You will always be a ninja.”