Hideaki Itsuno, certainly one of 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 Could 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 significantly 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 shall be leaving Capcom after 30 years and 5 months. Thanks on your long-term assist of the video games and characters I’ve been answerable for. I hope you’ll proceed to assist Capcom’s video games and characters.
“From September, I’ll begin creating a brand new sport in a brand new surroundings. I hope to create enjoyable, stunning video games which are 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 preventing sport fanatic who reduce his tooth on the style earlier than transferring on to totally different kinds of sport; amongst different preventing video games, he led improvement on cult favorites Rival Colleges and Energy Stone. Within the early 2000s he was parachuted in to avoid wasting improvement of the struggling motion sport sequel Satan Could Cry 2, with blended outcomes. However he would find yourself staying on to direct Satan Could Cry 3, 4, and 5, all effectively obtained by followers, in addition to oversee the event of Ninja Principle’s DmC: Satan Could Cry. Itsuno basically took the sequence, which had been created by Capcom legend Shinji Mikami, and made it his personal.
In between the fourth and fifth Satan Could Cry video games, Itsuno was given the possibility to understand a long-held dream challenge, 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 popularity 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 stunned by its hands-off design ethos.
As certainly one of Capcom’s most distinctive creators of the fashionable period, Itsuno’s subsequent transfer shall be watched with nice curiosity.
