The former Dead or Alive 6 director says he’s leaving Bandai Namco, after working on Tekken 8.
Yohei Shimbori worked on the Dead or Alive series at Dead or Alive 6 [10 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/dead-or-alive-6/”>Dead or Alive 6 (which he also produced).
Shimbori left Koei Tecmo in 2021 and joined Tekken 8 [64 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/tekken-8-2/”>Tekken 8.
According to a new post on X, however, Shimbori will be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of August, though his reasons for leaving and his future plans remain unknown for now.
“I will be leaving Bandai Namco Studios at the end of this month,” Shimbori wrote (via machine translation). “During my time here, I was involved in a variety of projects, but I was particularly deeply involved in Tekken 8, primarily focusing on out-of-game development.
“I received support from many people, including our customers. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude. Thank you very much!”
He added: “I won’t go into details about my future plans, but I’ll be able to move around more freely and take on new challenges that make the most of my strengths. It will probably take time, but I’ll keep working hard to bring you fun games, so I hope you’ll continue to support me.”
There hasn’t been a new main entry in the Dead or Alive fighting series since Shimbori left the company, meaning 2019’s Dead or Alive 6 remains the final chapter for now.
The series was well-known for its extremely realistic graphics and its approachable fighting system, but also received criticism over the years for its sexually suggestive content, in particular its ‘jiggle physics’.
Since the release of Dead or Alive 6, Koei Tecmo has focused on spin-offs like Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet (which features such contests as beach volleyball and ‘butt battles’) and dating sim Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme, both of which were only released in Asia.
