30 Years Later, a Legendary Capcom Developer Is Leaving the Studio For a Mysterious New Game

Video game designer Hideaki Itsuno has left earlier this year, the Beastren race, more realistic monster interactions, and the wildly controversial Dragonsplague mechanic were all planned for the original game, but only came to fruition in its sequel. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting finale to Itsuno’s 30-year career at Capcom.

Even as he moves to the next stage of his career, Itsuno’s work lives on at Capcom. His early days at the company were mostly spent working on fighting games, including directing Power Stone and Power Stone 2 for the Dreamcast. Though it hasn’t gotten a new title since the early 2000’s, the fantastically fun brawler series has plenty of fans to this day. Revealed during August’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will include both Power Stone games when it launches in 2025, bringing a bit of Itsuno’s legacy with it.

As for Itsuno himself, we don’t know yet what he’s getting up to next. So far, he’s only said that he’s set to start development on a new game later in September. The only thing we can say for sure is that after 30 years as one of Capcom’s most interesting directors, it will be worth keeping an eye on what he does next.