Tomonobu Itagaki: Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive video game director leaves note to fans as he dies aged 58
Legendary video game director Tomonobu Itagaki has died aged 58 with the industry veteran leaving a note for his fans on social media.
His cause of death has not yet been confirmed. However, the Japanese video game legend appeared to be aware that he was approaching the end of his life, after a note was posted to his social media which initially broke the news of his death.
On Itagaki’s Facebook profile page, a statement read: “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.”
He added: “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’s close friend James Meikle, who is the cofounder of indie studio Tigerton, said in a tribute on Bluesky: “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.”
Who is Tomonobu Itagaki?
Itagaki is best known for his work on the Dead or Alive and the revived Ninja Gaiden franchises. His career began in 1992 at Tecmo, where he started as a graphic engineer on the game Tecmo Super Bowl.
He then found individual fame as the producer and director of the Dead Or Alive franchise, with the first game in the series released in 1996. The fighting game becmae notorious for its imfamously sexulaised character designs. It went on to spawn six sequel games, with the latest game being released in 2019, although Itagaki left the franchise after Dead Or Alive 4. Itagaki also was key to the revival of the Ninja Gaiden series in 2004 and was involved with the first two games in the revival series.
In 2008, he departed Temco and filed a lawsuit against the company for withholding bonus pay. He also filed a lawsuit against Tecmo's president Yoshimi Yasuda for damages after claiming that “unreasonable and disingenuous statements” were made in front of colleagues.
Itagaki went on to forme Valhalla Game Studios, which operated until 2021. He also founded Itagaki Games, but the studio has never produced any game releases.