Devil May Cry series director and Dragon’s Dogma creator Hideaki Itsuno recently shared an update about his game studio’s in-the-works project in an interview with Famitsu. Itsuno left Capcom in August 2024 after a 30-year run at the company, becoming the head of LightSpeed Japan, a new studio founded by Tencent-owned company LightSpeed Studios.
Directed by Itsuno, LightSpeed Japan’s first project was announced as an original AAA action game targeting the global market. While he’s not ready to go into the details about the upcoming title yet, Itsuno says that his goal is to “Create a game that brings together the best of everything I’ve made so far.” Specifically, he mentions the fighting game elements of his Rival Schools series, the invisible skill ceiling-style action of Devil May Cry, and the AI of Dragon’s Dogma.
Additionally, he notes that the influence of Rival Schools is not literal (his new game won’t be a versus fighting game), but rather a natural extension of ideas that have already trickled into Devil May Cry previously. Itsuno confirms that he intends to draw from Rival Schools’ combos and varied techniques, as well as the series’ tendency to feature characters with an intense and distinct flair. “Characters have always been a crucial part of my work, so I plan to invest a lot of effort into character creation.”
Promisingly, Itsuno mentions that his new project was approved more or less the way he originally pitched it, without any particular changes from the company’s side. Further announcements may still be far off, but although LightSpeed Japan’s new game is a triple-A project, Itsuno says he’d like to keep the development period relatively compact – so we probably won’t be looking at a five or six-year development cycle.
