Dragon’s Dogma director launches new Japan studio under Tencent

The director behind Devil May Cry 3-5 and Dragon's Dogma 1 & 2, Hideaki Itsuno, has departed from his position at Capcom to form a new studio. His new company, known as Lightspeed Japan Studio, is now working on its first AAA game. 

Lightspeed Japan Studio is an extension of Tencent's AAA game division, with offices in Tokyo and Osaka. Following a multi-decade career at Capcom, Hideaki Itsuno will lead this new studio.

@__Lightspeed___で新章がスタートします！素晴らしいチームとともに新作AAAタイトルを制作し、世界中のプレイヤーに美しく革新的な体験をお届けできることに興奮しています。グローバル人材募集が始まりました！ぜひご参加ください！🚀” https://t.co/fhra7DUsbd

— Hideaki Itsuno (@tomqe) November 12, 2024

Itsuno released his own statement on the studio unveiling, saying: “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 games together. We welcome all talented and passionate game creators from the world over to join our vision.”

Unfortunately, the ‘vision' Itsuno speaks of is not immediately clear, as we do not know what this studio is working on yet. Hopefully in a couple of years time, this new studio will be ready to announce its first major project.

KitGuru Says: After shipping Dragon's Dogma 2, it looks like Itsuno was finally ready to move on from Capcom and start something new. Whatever he ends up making next, you can be sure we'll be keeping our eyes out for it. 

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