Hideaki Ituno, the eminent former director of the Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma series, has joined LightSpeed Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent Games.
Isuno, who left Capcom earlier this year after more than 30 years at the Japanese game company, announced the creation of a recent developer called LightSpeed Japan Studio with offices in Tokyo and Osaka. But what’s most electrifying for fans is Ituno’s plan to focus on creating original AAA action games, something he built his career on at Capcom.
Ituno’s long list of achievements includes games such as Rival Schools, Power Stone, the Devil May Cry series, and most recently the Dragon’s Dogma games. He was the director of Dragon’s Dogma 2, which was released earlier this year and became Ituno’s last game for Capcom.
“Joining LightSpeed Studios is an exciting new chapter for me,” commented Ituno. “With LightSpeed’s strong growth opportunities and global network, I look forward to creating original AAA action games with an incredible team and building aesthetically pleasing and innovative experiences for the global gaming community. We invite all talented and passionate game developers from around the world to join our vision.”
LightSpeed Studio is perhaps best known as the co-creator of Krafton’s PUBG Mobile, one of the most popular mobile games of all time. The Los Angeles studio is working on Last Sentinel, a narrative-focused open-world action game set in a dystopian future in Tokyo.
As for Capcom, its next massive game is Monster Hunter Wilds, although it also has recent entries in the Resident Evil series up its sleeve.
Image source: LightSpeed Studio.
Wesley is the UK news editor at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wy100@proton.me.