The director behind the juggernaut Devil May Cry series as well as the iconic Dragon"s Dogma RPG franchise left Capcom in August of this year after a 30 year stint. While he did not reveal what his next plans were in the video game space, he said that he hopes to "create fun, beautiful games that are as memorable as, or even more memorable than, the ones I have created so far." Now, his destination has been revealed to be at a Tencent studio.
Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios has managed to grab the famed director to work on a brand-new AAA action game. For this, it has set up LightSpeed Japan Studio as a brand-new development wing, which touts offices in Tokyo and Osaka.
Hideaki Itsuno will be leading the new studio, which will push "boundaries of new game creation" according to the announcement welcoming the Capcom veteran. The rest of the team under Itsuno is said to be game development veterans too, but plenty of more positions are currently open in both of the studio"s Osaka and Tokyo locations.
"It is our great honor to have Hideaki Itsuno join LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS," says Lightspeed Studios president Jerry Chen. "The establishment of LightSpeed Japan Studio is a significant step in LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS’ expansion and demonstrates our commitment to bringing the best possible games to our players."
"Joining LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS is an exciting new chapter for me. With LightSpeed’s strong development capability and global network, I look forward to creating original AAA action game titles together with the amazing team and building aesthetic and innovative experiences for the global player community. We welcome all talented and passionate game creators from the world over to join our vision," adds Hideaki Itsuno.
Considering the new studio has just opened its doors, it will be some years before fans get to hear about its debut project. Itsuno"s last game at Capcom turned out to be the action RPG Dragon"s Dogma 2, a game that received an excellent 8.5 score in Neowin"s own review.