Capcom’s legendary former director Hideaki Itsuno, most well-known for his work on the Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma series, is beginning a new chapter at Tencent Games subsidiary LightSpeed Studios.
Itsuno, who left Capcom in September this year after over 30 years at the company, announced via X/Twitter the formation of LightSpeed’s new Japan Studio, which will be based out of Tokyo and Osaka.
The famed director, who will head the new studio, has certainly not forgotten his roots. “Joining LightSpeed Studios is an exciting new chapter for me,” he commented, “I look forward to creating original AAA action game titles together with the amazing team, and building beautiful and innovative experiences for the global player community.”
Boasting a lengthy list of credentials, from early fighting games like Power Stone, Project Justice, and Capcom vs SNK 2, Itsuno’s most recent directorial works include 2019’s Devil May Cry 5 and this year’s Dragon’s Dogma II (which also marked his final game for Capcom). His move to LightSpeed seems to point towards the development of action titles in the same vein and potentially role-playing games as well.
LightSpeed Japan has only just been formed, so it remains unclear what to expect from the studio regarding upcoming titles. LightSpeed, as a whole, is best known for co-developing Krafton’s PUBG Mobile, with their Los Angeles studio currently working on Last Sentinel, a narrative-focused, open-world action game set in a reconstructed Tokyo far into the future.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
