Tomonobu Itagaki, Creator of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden Reboot, Has Died Aged 58

**Tomonobu Itagaki, Creator of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden Reboot, Has Died Aged 58**

*News by William D’Angelo | Posted 9 minutes ago | 80 Views*

Tomonobu Itagaki, best known as the creator of the *Dead or Alive* series and the *Ninja Gaiden* reboot series, has passed away at the age of 58.

Itagaki joined Tecmo in 1992 and went on to lead Team Ninja. He served as producer and director on the first four *Dead or Alive* games and the first two *Ninja Gaiden* reboot titles that began in 2004, among other projects.

In June 2008, he left Team Ninja to form a new studio, Valhalla Game Studios, alongside several former Team Ninja employees. The studio released *Devil’s Third* for the Wii U in 2015 but was eventually dissolved in December 2021. However, Itagaki did not stop there, as Itagaki Games was founded shortly afterward.

Below is a message posted on Itagaki’s personal Facebook page (translated by Gematsu):

**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

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A lifelong and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he joined in 2010 as a junior analyst, later becoming lead analyst in 2012 and taking over hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his presence in the gaming community by producing content on his YouTube and Twitch channels.

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