Veteran game designer Hideaki Itsuno, best known for shaping the Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma series at CAPCOM, has made a bold new move with Tencent’s LightSpeed Studios. 
After leaving CAPCOM last year, Itsuno is now leading LightSpeed’s Japan team, and he isn’t coming alone – roughly a third of the Osaka–Tokyo based studio consists of former CAPCOM talent.
Among the new recruits are writer Toshihiro Nakagawa (aka Bingo Morihashi), who penned much of the Devil May Cry saga and both Dragon’s Dogma titles. Art direction will be handled by Daigo Ikeno, a name familiar to fans of Street Fighter and Devil May Cry, while the legendary illustrator Bengus (known for Street Fighter and Power Stone) also joins the ranks. Together, these veterans form a trusted core around Itsuno, who emphasized how vital long-term creative bonds are to building something new.
LightSpeed Studios has also opened a new office in Osaka, with developers able to work from there or Tokyo. Itsuno explained that working with trusted colleagues removes barriers: “It’s all about a sense of trust… we know exactly what each of us want.”
While the project is still early, the team is focusing on an original IP that promises to deliver the kind of stylish, action-driven gameplay Itsuno’s name is synonymous with. A prototype is in development, but with the studio still seeking creative directors, it may be a while before concrete details emerge. For fans of Itsuno’s past work, however, the gathering of so much ex-CAPCOM talent under one roof is already an exciting sign.
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capcom must be sweating seeing half their legends move over