Capcom veteran Hideaki Itsuno is once again making a new AAA, but with a different company.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Itsuno revealed in a recent GDC panel that he is now making a new AAA with Lightspeed Studios, a subsidiary of TenCent. Itsuno joined TenCent last year, shortly after he released his last game with Capcom, Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Itsuno joined Capcom in 1994, just in time to see its transition from the arcades to consoles. He worked on franchises like Rival Schools, Power Stone, Capcom vs. SNK, Devil May Cry, and of course, Dragon’s Dogma.
Subsequently, Lightspeed Studios is best known for several mobile games, such as PUBG Mobile and Final Fantasy XIV Mobile. This Itsuno game is one of several that reflects their new direction from mobile towards consoles and possibly PC.
There really isn’t anything surprising about Itsuno and Lightspeed confirming that they’re making a game after starting to work together a few months ago. But it’s hopeful news given what we’ve been hearing about one of TenCent’s fellow Chinese video game conglomerates in NetEase.
NetEase’s sudden announcement that they shut down the Seattle studio making Marvel Rivals raised new questions about the company. As some had noticed, NetEase only confirmed the news after their former employees posted job openings and revealed their actions.
Subsequently, rumors spread claiming that NetEase was pulling back on their business around the world. Given how successful Marvel Rivals was at launch, and it continues to be successful, fans and critics raised questions if this was an indication that the business itself, even in China, was already becoming unsustainable.
It may be that these issues were strictly NetEase’s. TenCent, which allegedly had the good sense to reject the Guillemots’ offers for Ubisoft, could still be running their extensively distributed business more carefully, to make sure that they don’t spread themselves too thin.
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear if another Japanese developer hired by a Chinese company still has a future. As we reported, rumors were spreading that Toshihiro Nagoshi’s Nagoshi Studio may no longer be receiving additional funding from them to finish the game that they already have in production.
It’s our fervent hope that TenCent and Lightspeed commit to Itsuno’s vision and make sure that it goes all the way through to becoming a game we will be able to play and enjoy. It’s the least that they do owe to someone who left a prominent position in their own homegrown studios to work with Lightspeed and TenCent.
