Lightspeed Japan Studio, a subsidiary of the Tencent-owned company Lightspeed Studios, has announced a key expansion with the opening of a new office in Osaka.
Under the leadership of Hideaki Itsuno – who perhaps most famously spearheaded the development of the Devil May Cry series following his introduction as a replacement director for DMC2 – Lightspeed Japan Studio has also made three new significant hires.
All three are Capcom veterans. The first is narrative designer Toshihiro Nakagawa (Bingo Morihashi), who has previously worked closely with Itsuno in creating scenarios for the Devil May Cry franchise. The second is Daigo Ikeno, an illustrator famed for his work on the Street Fighter series (most notably 3rd Strike). Ikeno also made significant contributions to Devil May Cry as a character artist.
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Finally, illustrator 'Gouda Cheese' (who might be better known as 'Bengus') has also been hired. 'Cheese' has contributed to a number of high-profile fighting titles, including Super Street Fighter II, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
Lightspeed Japan Studio is currently hard at work on creating a 'cross-platform' AAA action game. It's still early days yet, so no details have been shared as to what it might entail, but we think it's safe to say that it will be quite similar in design to the likes of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta.
Whatever happens in the months and years ahead, Capcom can't be pleased at the loss of three key veterans. Nakagawa, Ikeno, and 'Cheese' have made some truly invaluable contributions to the success of the company, and we'll be keen to see what they all come up with over at Lightspeed Japan Studio.