Double Dragon Creator Yoshihisa Kishimoto Has Died Aged 64 - News

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The creator of the  creator of the Kunio-kun and Double Dragon series, Yoshihisa Kishimoto, has died at the age of 64. This was announced by his son on social media.

"I am the son of Yoshihisa Kishimoto, director of the passionate, hardcore Kunio-kun series," reads the post from the son.

"I am writing to inform you that my father passed away on April 2, 2026. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need to confirm details or anything else.

"Thank you so much for sharing so much information over the years for the Kunio-kun fans. We appreciate your continued support moving forward."

Kishimoto in the gaming industry first started working at Data East on Cobra Command and Road Blaster. He would move to Technos Japan to create Renegade (Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun) and Double Dragon. More recently he was the director on Double Dragon IV.

Thanks, Gematsu.

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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xl-klaudkil (on 06 April 2026)

Noo waay! Omg....the people who helped created the gaming industy as we know it are slowy fading away

• +3

Pemalite (on 06 April 2026)

We are approaching that era when industry heavy weights who helped kickstart the industry to what it is today.... Start passing.

Part of life.

• +1

halil23 (6 days ago)

Wonder if he was jabbed? There's been report that lots of Japanese people are dying from the BS jab

• 0

CaptainExplosion (on 06 April 2026)

What?! HOW?!! :(

• 0