Dead or Alive creator, Team Ninja founder and Ninja Gaiden director Tomonobu Itakagi has passed away
Tomonobu Itagaki, founder of Team Ninja and creator of the Dead or Alive series, has passed away at the age of 58.
Itagaki, who joined Tecmo in the early 1990s, produced and directed the first four Dead or Alive games, as well as Dead or Alive Ultimate and its spin-off, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
He also led the critically acclaimed reboot of Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden series, producing and directing Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Ninja Gaiden 2.
Following his passing, a final message written by Itagaki was posted on his Facebook page.
Titled “Last Words,” the message reads (via machine translation):
“The light of my life is finally going out. Posting this message means that the time has finally come. I am no longer in this world (I am asking a loved one to make this final post).
“My life has been a series of struggles. I have overcome. I have also caused a lot of trouble. I am proud to say that I followed my beliefs and fought to the end. I have no regrets.
“However, I deeply regret that I was unable to deliver a new work to all my fans. I am sorry.
“That’s just the way it is. That’s the way it is.”
BitSummit co-founder, former Q-Games producer, and former game journalist James Mielke paid tribute to Itagaki on BlueSky, explaining that they were very close.