Hideaki Itsuno, one among Capcom’s most skilled and profitable designers, has left the corporate after working there for over 30 years. Itsuno was a key steward of the Satan Might Cry sequence and the creator and director of Dragon’s Dogma and its latest sequel, Dragon’s Dogma 2; his departure leaves a query mark hanging over the way forward for each sequence, however notably Dragon’s Dogma, a singular tackle motion role-playing video games guided by Itsuno’s distinctive imaginative and prescient for the style.
“I’ve an announcement for all my followers,” Itsuno posted to X. “On the finish of August 2024, I might be leaving Capcom after 30 years and 5 months. Thanks in your long-term help of the video games and characters I’ve been liable for. I hope you’ll proceed to help Capcom’s video games and characters.
“From September, I’ll begin creating a brand new recreation in a brand new surroundings. I hope to create enjoyable, stunning video games which can be as memorable as, or much more memorable than, those I’ve created up to now. Please keep tuned for my subsequent creation!”
Like many at Capcom, Itsuno was a combating recreation fanatic who minimize his enamel on the style earlier than shifting on to totally different kinds of recreation; amongst different combating video games, he led improvement on cult favorites Rival Faculties and Energy Stone. Within the early 2000s he was parachuted in to save lots of improvement of the struggling motion recreation sequel Satan Might Cry 2, with combined outcomes. However he would find yourself staying on to direct Satan Might Cry 3, 4, and 5, all effectively obtained by followers, in addition to oversee the event of Ninja Principle’s DmC: Satan Might Cry. Itsuno primarily took the sequence, which had been created by Capcom legend Shinji Mikami, and made it his personal.
In between the fourth and fifth Satan Might Cry video games, Itsuno was given the prospect to appreciate a long-held dream venture, which grew to become the primary Dragon’s Dogma. Combining the liberty of Western RPGs like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion with Capcom-style motion fight and a singular system of AI companions referred to as pawns, Dragon’s Dogma initially met with confusion on its launch in 2012, however its repute and following grew such {that a} sequel was greenlit. Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched in 2024 to crucial acclaim — and nonetheless extra confusion from new gamers shocked by its hands-off design ethos.
As one among Capcom’s most distinctive creators of the trendy period, Itsuno’s subsequent transfer might be watched with nice curiosity.
