Tomonobu Itagaki resigns as Valhalla Game Studios representative director

Tomonobu Itagaki has resigned from his position as representative director and chief technical officer of Valhalla Game Studios to assume a new position as prime adviser, the company announced.

In two separate messages, provided in the press release and on Facebook, Itagaki said that rather than continue the cycle of putting his all into making and polishing one game until it is complete and the next one comes along, he wants to contribute to the game industry by finding young and passionate developers and helping them bloom by sharing his own experiences and knowledge.

A replacement for Itagaki was not announced.

Find both messages below.

Press Release Message

I, Tomonobu Itagaki, would like to announce that I am stepping down as representative director of Valhalla Game Studios, and will be assuming the position of Prime Advisor to the company.

As one of the founders, I feel I have an obligation to explain to you all why I have come to this decision.

On April 1st of this year, I celebrated my 50th birthday. Until now, I would spend day and night concentrating on the development of one game, molding and polishing it into a product full of excitement. Once that game was completed, I would immediately head into development of the next game. Through this pattern I have released numerous games.

Now, with the passing of my 50th birthday as a personal milestone I will put into effect a change that I have been planning for some time, changing my place and purpose in the game development industry. Rather than working for just myself or just my own company, I wish to contribute as much as I can to the game development industry as a whole and help it to grow by passing on my own method of development, my own method of creating games, to those who would like to work with me. I will, of course, continue working with Valhalla Game Studios, providing full support to its young staff.

I hope all the fans and industry representatives will continue to support Valhalla Game Studios and myself as well.

Sincerely,
Tomonobu Itagaki

Facebook Message

Hey everyone, the time has finally come where I can talk about what’s been going on with me. The reason I’ve been silent for this long is because I’ve been waiting for this day.

As of today, I’ll be moving on from my position as Representative Director of Valhalla Game Studios and take up the role of Prime Advisor. At the same time, I’ll also begin working together and creating games with a number of studios around the world.

With my 50th birthday marking a major milestone in my life, I’ve decided I want to change the way I work. My birthday is April 1st – this picture was taken just before that, making it the last picture of me in my 40’s. It was taken at Kiyosumi Garden in Tokyo by a friend of mine who is a professional cameraman.

Look at the cherry blossoms ready to blossom.

There are a lot of developers all around the world just like this.

I want to help them bloom.

You can find young, passionate developers in any country on the globe with aspirations and passion, the drive that makes them say “I’m gonna make an awesome game!!”. Starting from now on, I want to share with these young developers my own experiences and knowledge and help them build their games together.

This comes a bit sudden and I’m sure many of you may be surprised. An official press release will be out shortly, so please read that as well.

Phew, that felt great to finally get off my chest! I’m really looking forward to the future with you all!

Tomonobu Itagaki