LightSpeed Japan Studio, the Tencent Games subsidiary studio led by Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon’s Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno, has established a new office in Osaka alongside recruiting more Capcom staff.
The company announced the establishment of their new Osaka offices alongside news they’ve recruited Capcom legends Bingo Morihashi (above left), Daigo Ikeno (above right), and Gouda Cheese (Editor’s Note: Hideaki Itsuno is above center, Gouda/Bengus has no known photos).
Here’s a brief profile of each Capcom veteran and their new role at LightSpeed Japan Studio:
- Bingo Morihashi (Narrative lead) – Scenario writer. He worked on scenarios for the Devil May Cry series, and after going freelance, he has been in charge of story design for various games for over 20 years.
- Daigo Ikeno (Art Director) – He is a talented artist who has worked on illustrations and character designs for titles like Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Devil May Cry 2, 3, 5, and Street Fighter IV.
- Gouda Cheese (Art designer) – An illustrator also known professionally as Bengus. He has worked on 2D character designs for titles such as Darkstalkers and Marvel vs. Capcom, and also participated in the production of the anime Battle Spirits: Shonen Gekiha Dan.
“By establishing studios in both Tokyo and Osaka, we’ve created a structure that leverages Japan’s top game development talent,” Itsuno said. “The senior members joining us now will demonstrate leadership in narrative development, art direction, and character design, serving as the driving force behind creating innovative AAA action titles. Building original AAA IP from scratch in Japan is extremely rare today, and we are now taking on that very challenge.”
As covered in our previous report, LightSpeed Japan Studio is working on a “cross-platform next-generation AAA action title,” and currently employ around 40 full time staff. The company is still actively recruiting for new positions, check out their official page.
