Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away at the age of 58 following a prolonged illness. Known for his transformative influence in the realm of action gaming through his leadership at Tecmo, Itagaki revived Ninja Gaiden and created the Dead or Alive series. After leaving Tecmo in 2008, he founded Valhalla Game Studios, where he released Devil’s Third on the Wii U.

Itagaki was identifiable by his signature sunglasses and passionate interviews. His work, particularly the 2004 3D Ninja Gaiden, established him as a key figure among early 2000s game makers. This was confirmed through a post on his Facebook page, revealing sentiments like “I just feel so sorry to all my fans that I can’t deliver my new work: sorry. It is what it is. So it goes.”