Team Ninja’s original firebrand leaves behind a complex legacy
Tomonobu Itagaki, the influential creator behind the Dead or Alive fighting series and the 2004 Ninja Gaiden reboot, has passed away at 58. The news came through a pre-written farewell message posted to his official Facebook page on Thursday.
In his final note, Itagaki looked back on a career defined by creative clashes, bold design choices, and a lasting influence on the character action genre. As the outspoken head of Team Ninja at Tecmo, his work set a new benchmark for challenging, high-speed character action games that helped shape series like Devil May Cry and God of War.
Itagaki’s legacy is as complicated as it is impactful. Known for his trademark sunglasses and blunt honesty, he was a perfectionist whose drive pushed both his games and his colleagues to their limits. After parting ways with Tecmo in the late 2000s following a lawsuit, he founded his own studios to keep chasing his vision of pure, skill-driven action.
Industry figures such as David Jaffe and Katsuhiro Harada have since paid tribute, remembering both his sharp, confident personality and the influence he left on modern game design. Fans now mourn not only the man, but the many projects from Itagaki Games that will never see completion.
Editor’s Take
This news hits hard. Itagaki was one of my favorite creators growing up. I still remember playing the Dead or Alive 2 demo disc on the Sega Dreamcast and being absolutely blown away, not just by the visuals but by the stage transitions and combo system that felt years ahead of their time. Ninja Gaiden pushed that even further, demanding mastery long before “Soulslike” became shorthand for difficulty.
Itagaki’s games had a certain energy: bold, confident, and unapologetically skill-driven. His work helped define what I love about action games, and it’s hard to imagine the genre without him.
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