According to multiple social media reports, Tomonubu Itagaki, Creator and Producer of the Dead or Alive series as well as the modern Ninja Gaiden titles, has passed away at the age of 58.
While his cause of death is unknown at this time, he was said to be battling a “serious illness.”
One final message was posted on his Facebook account, which read (translated from Japanese):
“Words to leave.
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.
Banobu Itagaki”
Born on April 1, 1967, in Japan, Itagaki-San maintained a very private life, and while not confirmed, his Father was rumored to be a swordsmith. We were not able to find any confirmed information about his Mother.
Itagaki-San took an early interest in video games, creating his first game in high school alongside his younger brother. Creating a Gundam and Zaku game, Itagaki-San created the pixel art while his younger brother wrote the code.
After graduating from Waseda University’s School of Law in March of 1992, Itagaki-San pivoted career aspirations and joined game studio and publisher Tecmo as a graphics programmer. His first title, Tecmo Super Bowl, arrived in November of 1993 to critical acclaim.
Upon joining Tecmo’s Tecmo Creative #3 studio in 1996, Itagaki-San debuted one of the game industry’s most beloved franchises, Dead or Alive. The studio was renamed Team Ninja in 1999, and Itagaki-San was named head of that studio in 2001.
Throughout the years, Itagaki-San gained fame for his involvement in the Dead or Alive sequels, as well as the success of the Ninja Gaiden revival, bringing the notoriously difficult series back in 2004 to critical acclaim.
Itagaki-San’s final game credit, where he served as “Supreme Advisor,” was Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time in 2020.
While not much is known about his personal life, Itagaki-San is survived by his wife and daughter, the latter of whom he credited his daughter as an inspiration for his title Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, which released in 2008 for Nintendo DS.
Rest in peace, Itagaki-San.
Sources: Facebook, Giant Bomb, Gamingbolt
