Ninja Gaiden Icon Tomonobu Itagaki Dies as he Apologises to Fans

Legendary video game developer Tomonobu Itagaki has passed away at the age of 58.

Born 1 April 1967 in Tokyo, Japan, Tomonobu Itagaki-san’s death was confirmed in a post on his official Facebook page earlier today, after authorising a friend to share his “final words” in an emotional post to his followers.

Tomonobu Itagaki is perhaps best known for his work with the video game publisher and developer Tecmo Koei. Despite graduating from a law school in 1992, it was the video game industry where he’d make a name for himself.

Tomonobu Itagaki worked as a director and producer on the Dead or Alive series, the 3D Ninja Gaiden games from 2004 onwards, as well as one of my favourite horror games of all time, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, to name a few.

RIP to a legend of the industry (Koei Tecmo)

“The light of my life is about to run out. The fact that this sentence has been posted means it's finally time. I'm no longer in this world. (This last post is for someone special to me,” his Facebook post reads, translated by Google.

“My life has been a series of battles. We stayed winning. I've caused a lot of trouble. I stand by my beliefs, and I own it. No regrets. I just feel so sorry to all my fans that I can't deliver my new work, sorry, it is what it is. So it goes. Banobu Itagaki.”

A close friend of Tomonobu Itagaki, James Mielke, shared his message of condolences on BlueSky:

“Today I lost someone who was truly like a brother to me. I am gutted to the core. I guess I can say so now that it's on his Facebook page

"He even listed himself as my actual brother on Facebook. Anyone who knows me knows how close we were. RIP, senpai.

"You will always be a ninja.”

Famed Tekken developer, Katsuhiro Harada, wrote a heartbreaking message on Twitter: “It’s hard to believe, but Itagaki-san…my senior from university and my rival as a creator has passed away.

Katsuhiro Harada paid tribute to his friend (SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images)

“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?

“Didn’t you say you were going to defeat me someday? Didn’t you come to my wedding, wearing your usual black leather jacket and sunglasses, and call me your comrade-in-arms? Didn’t you tell me to come to you whenever I was in trouble? I never even got the chance to consult you about anything. Honestly… I’m really depressed.”

All of us at GAMINGbible pass our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Tomonobu Itagaki. Thank you for the countless fond memories.