UPDATE: October 7 – According to Gamebiz.jp, Itagaki has renamed Itagaki Production Co. Ltd, founded in September 2010, to Itagaki Games Co. Ltd. As a result, it appears that the company was reformed into a new Itagaki Games and is now in operation.
Itagaki Games, led by Dead or Alive creator and former Team NINJA leader Tomonobu Itagaki, has shut down. The studio’s closure was listed in a company dissolution notice in Japan’s government gazette on October 8 (JST).
According to Gematsu, the notice reads, “Dissolution Notice: Itagaki Games, LLC has been dissolved, so if you have any claims against our company, please submit your claims within two months from the day this notice is published.”
Itagaki established Itagaki Games in January 2021, and he opened a Twitter account (@ItagakiApex) shortly afterward to share updates on his life in game development. He also tweeted out in English, saying that he’s devoted to making games with the support of many fans. Itagaki’s Twitter account has since been deactivated, however.
When the company opened its doors, Itagaki noted that the studio’s first game would be for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. He also stated that he was open to Itagaki Games being acquired by Microsoft, if the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, Itagaki’s studio did not release any games in its brief three-year history.
Tomonobu Itagaki is best known for creating the Dead or Alive series and leading Team NINJA in its revival of the Ninja Gaiden series. The creator left Koei Tecmo in 2008 and would later establish Valhalla Game Studios. Years after the completion of Devil’s Third for Nintendo Wii U, Itagaki left Valhalla Game Studios in 2017.