Who is Tomonobu Itagaki? Legendary developer and creator of ‘Ninja Gaiden’ and ‘Dead or Alive’, dies at 58

At the age of 58, renowned Japanese video game designer, producer, and director Tomonobu Itagaki passed dead. Itagaki is most known for bringing the Ninja Gaiden franchise back to life and for developing fighting game series like Dead or Alive.

Itagaki’s close friend James Mielke posted on Instagram and Bluesky to inform the video game designer’s death.

Itagaki had a severe sickness that gradually worsened in his last days. A few days prior to his passing, he had also posted a parting statement on Facebook.

Itagaki, who was born on May 1, 1967, rose to prominence in the gaming business while working at Tecmo. He began working for the company in 1992 and remained there until 2008, when he established and oversaw Team Ninja, the development studio behind some of the most popular games the company has produced. Under his leadership, Team Ninja created the fighting game Dead or Alive in 1996, which gained popularity due to its fast-paced gameplay, counter system, and contentious character design. Additionally, he oversaw the 2004 Xbox relaunch of the iconic action adventure Ninja Gaiden series.

Itagaki established a new studio with a number of his former Team Ninja comrades after departing Tecmo. In 2021, he also established a second studio.

Itagaki’s final message before his death:

In a post on Facebook, Itagaki wrote, ““The flame of my life is finally about to go out. If this message has been posted, that means the time has come – I am no longer in this world. (This final post has been entrusted to someone dear to me.) My life was a constant battle. And I kept on winning. l also caused a lot of trouble along the way. I take pride in having fought through it all, following my own convictions. I have no regrets. I only feel deep sorrow that I couldn’t deliver a new work to all my fans. That’s just how it goes. So it goes.”