Itsuno announced the addition of several key developers and artists joining him in developing a new action game at Lightspeed Japan Studio.
Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry series director Hideaki Itsuno stunned many when he announced he would be leaving Capcom after a 20-year tenure there, but Itsuno is far from done with game design. The veteran developer started his own studio, Lightspeed Japan Studio, and the group has opened an Osaka office with several key collaborators on previous Capcom projects. The studio is set to work on a new AAA action game.
Lightspeed Japan Studio announced the opening of its Osaka office this week, with Itsuno sharing enthusiasm for the milestones his group has reached in preparing for active development of a new gaming project. A few of the key staff are veterans who worked with Itsuno at Capcom and will be rejoining him for that new project. They include Narrative Designer, Toshihiro Nakagawa aka Bingo Morihashi, who worked on the Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma games with Itsuno, Lead Artist, Daigo Ikeno, who was art director on the Dragon’s Dogma games and is known for his character designs in Devil May Cry and Street Fighter, and Game Illustrator “Gouda Cheese” aka Bengus, who has worked on iconic art for games like Power Stone and Darkstalkers.
Congrats to LightSpeed Japan Studio on new Osaka office launch!
Eager to join? Apply today and join us👇https://t.co/HysvDawjui
Let’s build something remarkable together! https://t.co/5oqMHrMvM7
— LightSpeed Studios (@__lightspeed___) August 26, 2025
The team of veterans Hideaki Itsuno has assembled includes a number of his previous collaborators and colleagues, which should hopefully make for a familiar and hospitable environment. After Itsuno’s exit from Capcom in September 2024, many wondered what the active game director would do next, especially following so closely after the exceptional Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Now, it seems that we have our answer. As we wait for the full details on Itsuno and Lightspeed Japan Studio’s next game, stay tuned to the studio topic here at Shacknews for updates.
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.
AloJapan.com