The man that turned Castlevania games into a genre on PlayStation and Game Boy Advance is done with the series … at least as an employee of Japanese publisher Konami.

Producer Koji Igarashi, also known as “Iga,” has left Konami. He is striking out to start his own development studio that will focus on the kinds of games that his fans enjoy, according to a statement he released to the press. His departure comes 20 years after he joined the publisher. Igarashi is responsible in some way for over a dozen Castlevania games. He is best known for revitalizing the series by adding an explorable world and role-playing-style leveling to Symphony of the Night for PlayStation in 1997. Igarashi’s exit may signify a wider trend in development in Japan and the U.S. as he is just the latest to leave his long-time job with an established publisher for something new.

“I’ve decided to break out on my own to have the freedom to make the kind of games I really want to make — the same kind I think fans of my past games want as well,” Igarashi said in a statement. “Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly — I’ve spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of great opportunities — but I hope all the gamers and fans who have supported me in the past will join me in being excited about what comes next.”

We’ve reached out to Konami for a statement regarding Igarashi’s departure. We’ll update this story with any new information.

Igarashi did not specify exactly what he is working on. He will give a talk about Castlevania- and Metroid-style games (a genre often referred to as Metroidvania) at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and it’s possible that he could reveal his new project during that discussion. Igarashi’s Castlevania titles are often cited for inspiring other Metroidvania releases like the recent Strider from Capcom and developer Double Helix, Rogue Legacy from Cellar Door Games, and Guacamelee from Drinkbox Studios.

In leaving Konami, Igarashi is just the latest high-profile developer looking to do something on his own outside of an established corporation. Igarashi’s trajectory most closely resembles Mega Man creator Kenji Inafune, who left Capcom in 2010 after 23 years. He started a new studio called Comcept that is currently developing Mighty No. 9, which is a side-scrolling platformer similar to Mega Man that the company crowdfunded through Kickstarter. It raised $3.85 million through that service.

Other developers that have made similar career changes include God of War producer Cliff Bleszinski, who left Epic Games in 2012, and God of War director David Jaffe, who left Sony Santa Monica in 2007. Another Japanese developer, Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, has reportedly left Q Entertainment.

Following Symphony of the Night in 1997, Igarashi went on to produce several more Castlevania games, all of which followed the Metroidvania formula. This continued through the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and 3DS. His last Castlevania title was Harmony of Despair, a digital-download-only Metroidvania for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Also in 2010, Konami released Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which was a big-budget 3D action-adventure take on the series for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Igarashi was not involved with that title, which Spanish developer MercurySteam produced. That studio also created a 2D Metroidvania-style Castlevania for 3DS as well as a sequel to Lords of Shadow that debuted earlier this year.

Related articles

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]