Tomonobu Itagaki, the famous developer from Tecmo, most known for creating the Dead or Alive fighting series and reviving NINJA GAIDEN on Xbox in 2004, has died. He was 58 years old.

NINJA GAIDEN and Dead or Alive were both at the peak of their popularity in the 2000s and Itagaki was directly responsible for both of them. If there is such a thing as a video game developer rock star, Itagaki definitely was it. His games pushed boundaries thematically and in their gameplay. He turned NINJA GAIDEN into a hyper-violent hardcore action series, while Dead or Alive raised eyebrows with its approachable yet solid mechanics and scantily-clad characters.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball was very controversial at the time of its release in 2003. In truth, there wasn’t anything “extreme” about it, and it was just a slightly risque game about the girls from Dead or Alive playing volleyball at a beach resort.

Itagaki was the face of Tecmo throughout the 2000s and was one of the first to pledge developer support for the original Xbox console, which was notable at the time because Tecmo was one of the only Japanese studios to do so.

In his early days at Tecmo, Itagaki also worked on Tecmo Super Bowl for Super Nintendo, which was the best American football video game you could buy on a console before the Madden series began its rise to popularity.

Itagaki eventually left Tecmo and established his own studio, Itagaki Games, in 2021. Unfortunately, we’ll never be able to see the fruits of that studio’s labor.

Itagaki definitely left his mark on the video game industry, and he won’t be forgotten.

In related news, NINJA GAIDEN 4 releases in just a few days for PC and consoles. If you plan on picking it up, keep Itagaki-san’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

Rest In Peace.