Tomonobu Itagaki, Creator of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden Reboot, Has Died Aged 58 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 October 2025 / 2,526 Views
Tomonobu Itagaki, best known as the creator of the Dead or Alive series and the Ninja Gaiden reboot series, has died at the age of 58.
Itagaki joined Tecmo in 1992 and would head Team Ninja. He was producer and director on the first four Dead or Alive games, the first two Ninja Gaiden reboot series that started in 2004, and more.
He would leave Team Ninja in June 2008 and would form a new studio, Valhalla Game Studios, alongside several other Team Ninja employees. The developer would release Devil's Third for the Wii U in 2015. It would eventually be dissolved in December 2021. However, Itagaki Games would be formed shortly after.
Read a message posted on Itagaki’s personal Facebook page (translated by Gematsu) below:
My Last Words
The light of my life is finally about to fade.
The fact that this message has been posted means that the time has come at last. I am no longer in this world.
(This final message was entrusted to someone dear to me.)
My life was a series of battles. I kept on winning.
I also caused a lot of trouble.
I take pride in having fought through to the end according to my own convictions.
I have no regrets.
However, I am filled with sorrow that I was unable to deliver a new work to my fans. I’m sorry.
That’s how it is.
So it goes.
—Tomonobu Itagaki
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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Katsuhiro Harada (Tekken creator) posted this:
"It’s hard to believe, but Itagaki-san…my senior from university and my rival as a creator has passed away.
The last message I ever received from him was,
“Let’s go drinking. Let’s make some noise soon!”
To think that he’s gone at just 58 years old…
Yes, everyone dies eventually …that’s inevitable.
But you… isn’t it a bit too soon?
Didn’t you say you were going to defeat me someday?
Didn’t you come to my wedding, wearing your usual black leather jacket and sunglasses,
and call me your comrade-in-arms?
Didn’t you tell me to come to you whenever I was in trouble?
I never even got the chance to consult you about anything.
Honestly… I’m really depressed."
That's terribly young, especially for a Japanese person.
NOOOOOOO!
Fuck maaaaaaaaan. His sorrow is my sorrow as well; I was always rooting for him to make a comeback. Given a true opportunity, I know he have made would have made something ground breaking. I will never forget my time with Dead or Alive 2&4. Played the fuck out of those games. RIP Mr. Tomonobu
He truly was a visionary and man of culture!
I salute him while I will watch a compilation of all the jiggle physics in his honor. 🫡
Tomonobu Itagaki was a true Rock Star!
He didn't give a F what anyone thought of him
RIP man, gonna miss you
This really sucks. His Dead or Alive games were amazing, my favorite fighting game series. RIP Itagaki
Too young, RIP.
Please tell me he died of natural causes. :(
To this day, Ninja Gaiden Black (2005) remains one of my favourite games of all time.
If he took covid bullshit jab then he was murdered by fauci and bill gates of hell
Sad to hear..i just arrived in japan
