Team Ninja, Smash Bros' Masahiro Sakurai, and "rival" Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada pay tribute to iconic Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki

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The Team Ninja founder has passed away at the age of 58

Team Ninja and Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada are among the names who have paid tribute to Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki, who passed away earlier today.

Dead or Alive creator and Ninja Gaiden reboot director Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away at the age of 58. The Team Ninja founder's Facebook account was updated with a message saying, "Words I Leave Behind. The flame of my life is finally about to go out. If this message has been posted, it means that the time has come. I am no longer in this world. My life was a series of battles. And I kept on winning." He adds, "I have no regrets. Only one thing weighs on me — I’m deeply sorry to all my fans that I couldn’t bring you a new work. I truly am."

BitSummit co-founder James Mielke later confirmed the news on BlueSky: "Today I lost someone who was truly like a brother to me. I am gutted to the core… Anyone who knows me knows how close we were. RIP, senpai. You will always be a ninja." While Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai reacted on Twitter, saying (via machine translation), "May he rest in peace."

Itagaki had a rivalry with Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada, with him openly bashing Tekken in the media during their competition with Dead or Alive. However, the duo later became close after Itagaki left Tecmo, and he explained that he viewed Harada as a "comrade-in-arms." Harada reacted to the news on Twitter, "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?"

Team Ninja also reacted to the news on Twitter (via machine translation): "We extend our deepest condolences upon learning of the passing of Tomonobu Itagaki, founder of Team Ninja." The tweet adds, "We will carry forward Mr. Itagaki's creative vision and continue delivering titles to gamers worldwide. May he rest in peace."

As well as leading Dead or Alive, Itagaki was director of the 2004 reboot of Ninja Gaiden, and its sequel Ninja Gaiden 2, with Team Ninja releasing the latest in that series, Ninja Gaiden 4, in a few days.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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