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Tomonobu Itagaki, the founder of Team Ninja and the famous Japanese game developer behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden (2004), has passed away at the age of 58. The announcement was shared in a posthumous post on social media that Itagaki had prepared to be shared after his death.
His close friend, James Mielke, co-founder and creative director of Bitsummit, confirmed the news on Bluesky and Instagram.
Who was Tomonobu Itagaki
Tomonobu Itagaki is best known for creating and leading the Dead or Alive fighting game series, which first hit arcades in 1996, and for reviving Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden franchise on the Xbox in 2004.In 2008, he left Team Ninja to start Valhalla Game Studios, where he worked on Devil’s Third — a long-delayed project that was met with poor reviews when it finally launched.
More recently, he had founded Itagaki Games in 2021 and was preparing to develop a new title before his passing.Known for his bold personality, Itagaki often spoke his mind in interviews. His honest and sometimes blunt opinions gave him a reputation for being rebellious and occasionally led to clashes with other developers.
Read Tomonobu Itagaki’s last post
Translated by Mielke on Instagram, the post says:“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.Tomonobu Itagaki"Mielke also shared a post on BlueSky stating:"Today I lost a friend who was more than a brother to me. He called me his brother, he called me his best friend. I am honored to have been any of these things to him, and was equally grateful for his friendship for more than two decades. I am reposting his final Facebook message as a way to share the news in his own words.I knew his time was going to be short after I saw him a little over a week ago. While he remained optimistic, he could leave the hospital in a month; I think we both knew that was optimistic at best. All I can say is he suffered from a serious illness that escalated rather severely in his final days. I spent all afternoon with him, wishing I could do more. But at least I was with him near the very end. When I got the news late this afternoon, I was also grateful to hear the news directly, rather than second-hand.My heart is broken, and it’ll be a while before I recover from this.You will always be my brother, Itagaki-san. Thank you for everything you’ve shared with me through the years. I owe so much to you. I will continue to honor you, however and whenever I can."
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