Over the weekend, game developer Koji Igarashi, typically referred to as just ‘IGA’ and best known for his longtime position as producer of the Castlevania series, left his position at Konami after 24 years. Hot on the heels of Ken Levine announcing the dissolution of Irrational Games in order to focus on smaller projects, and barely beating the rumored departure of Tetsyua Mizuguchi from Q? Entertainment to the press, his departure has many wondering what he’ll do next and what Konami may do in his absence. To get a better idea of what IGA may be up to in the days of his newly-found independence, one could look at another long-time developer who recently struck out on his own: Keiji Inafune.
Upon announcing his departure, IGA mentioned that he plans to create games “I think fans of my past games want as well”. It’s a poorly-kept secret that IGA preferred making 2D Castlevania titles but was always relegated to making them for handheld systems due to Konami’s fears that a full-fledged side-scrolling Castlevania adventure wouldn’t sell well enough on consoles to justify the cost – with the moderate success of the multiplayer-focused Castlevania: Harmony of Despair doing nothing to change their minds.
It isn’t a stretch to think, then, that IGA will take a cue from Mega Man producer Keiji Inafune’s book and launch a Kickstarter or similar campaign to fund some manner of Castlevania-esque action title. Shortly after being released from Capcom, Inafune founded a new company called Comcept and announced Mighty No. 9 as its debut project, a thinly-veiled Mega Man pastiche promising fast-paced old-school 2D shooting action. Given how successful the Kickstarter campaign for Mighty No. 9 was, it stands to reason that IGA will look to crowdfunding sources in order to get his new dream project off the ground.
But even with the gaming community’s trust, enthusiasm, and money, a title like that could still be a ways off. What to do in the meantime? In addition to Mighty No. 9, Inafune is providing a consultant role on titles like Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z and Azure Striker: Gunvolt. Gunvolt is a particular title worth mentioning as it takes open influence from Inafune’s own Mega Man ZX games. Castlevania games under IGA’s tenure tended to fall under two formats: the open-world exploration style of Symphony of the Night (referred to as ‘Metroidvania’ games, a term adopted and used by IGA himself) and the more platforming-focused linear action game style of Order of Ecclesia which called to mind the original NES Castlevania titles. Imagine, then, two different sets of IGA-led Castlevania homages: one directed by the man himself and given more of a Metroidvania bent, and another company working on something more along the lines of Castlevania III or Bloodlines, with IGA providing more of producer/consultant role so he can focus his energies more on the former title.
A slightly more pressing issue to some gamers is where Castlevania may go as a series after IGA’s departure. Castlevania was around long before IGA got a chance to work on it, even if he arguably did it best, and Konami isn’t likely to just cast it aside the way Capcom has all but forgotten the Mega Man series lately. While the most recent Castlevania title Lords of Shadow 2 underperformed both critically and financially, its predecessor remains the most successful title in Castlevania history, and that’s saying something. Konami is likely already looking for a replacement for previous developers MercurySteam to take over the 3D Castlevania series, but IGA’s departure may mean extra steps have to be taken.
Imagine the man behind one of your biggest franchises just takes the ball and leaves, no doubt to make a game to serve as a direct competitor to your products. Even if you two part ways on amicable terms (as opposed to the unceremonious breakup between Inafune and Capcom) you’ll be scrambling to fill that void and remind gamers who the real house of Castlevania is, right? Maybe this will lead to something of a 2D Castlevania resurgence as Konami scrambles to fill the void. We could be looking at dueling studios, striving to provide the best action game with whips and Draculas they could. Or maybe they’ll just pull a Capcom and look the other way, not paying IGA’s new studio any mind one way or another. Either way, IGA surely has big things planned and his departure should bring about awesome announcements in the coming months.