Devil May Cry Director to Announce New Game in 2017
By Dalton Cooper 01 January 2017
Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno, director of games like Devil May Cry 3, Dragon’s Dogma, and Power Stone, will announce his next game at some point in the new year.
One of Capcom’s most prolific game directors is looking to make a splash in 2017. As he announced on Twitter, Hideaki Itsuno, known for being the director of Devil May Cry 2, 3, and 4, along with other titles like Dragon’s Dogma, Rival Schools, and Power Stone, will announce his next video game project at some point in the new year. It remains to be seen what his project will be, but there’s strong evidence in favor of it being a sequel to one of his previous games.
One distinct possibility is that Hideaki Itsuno’s new game is Devil May Cry 5. Following a financially disappointing reboot, it would make sense for Capcom to put Itsuno back at the helm of the next game in the series. Itsuno being more actively involved with the game’s development could ease fans’ concerns, plus a voice actor already outed the existence of Devil May Cry 5. Since Itsuno served as the director for all but two games in the series, it stands to reason that he will direct the probable fifth game.
Another game Itsuno could be directing is Dragon’s Dogma. His last directorial effort was 2013’s Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, and it’s been teased in the past that a new Dragon’s Dogma game could already be in development. Unless Itsuno is busy with a new Devil May Cry title, his next game could very well be a Dragon’s Dogma followup.
Happy New Year! I exert myself in order to announce a new game this year. Thank you.
— Hideaki Itsuno (@tomqe) December 31, 2016
Beyond Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma, Itsuno has also developed some of Capcom’s most beloved cult classics, like Rival Schools and Power Stone. Capcom recently expressed an interest in reviving dormant franchises, so maybe Itsuno has been tasked with bringing one of his old IP back to life for modern gaming consoles. This could take the form of brand new installments in the Power Stone and Rival Schools franchises, but the games could also be brought back as remasters.
After the success of Resident Evil HD Remaster, remasters are a priority for Capcom, and it may want to test the waters for interest in its older brands with remasters before moving forward on development of full-fledged sequels. Whatever Itsuno’s project is, fans should be excited. While he’s directed a couple of flops, the majority of the games Itsuno has bene at the helm for have released to critical acclaim, and so it will be exciting to see what he has to offer the gaming world in 2017.
