Tekken's Harada Hosts Star-Studded Dev Meetup, Fans Remember Itagaki

Tekken veteran Katsuhiro Harada shared photos from a VS Studio gathering of top Japanese developers, and one comment about the late Tomonobu Itagaki stole the show.

Katsuhiro Harada, the former Tekken producer, just gave fans a peek at one seriously stacked developer hangout — and one comment underneath it hit everyone right in the feels.

Harada shared photos from a gathering at his new studio, VS Studio, revealing that a bunch of game industry friends got together and talked from 7 PM all the way to 2 AM. That's a seven-hour marathon of shop talk, and honestly, we'd love to be a fly on that wall.

He also teased that a bigger meetup is planned for the end of this year, with even more industry folks invited. So yeah, expect another round of photos that make you wish you were in the room.

The guest list reads like a who's-who of Japanese game development: Masahiro Sakai, Hideki Kamiya, Fumito Ueda, Keiichiro Toyama, Fumihiko Yasuda, and Kotaro Uchibori were among those who showed up. Fans quickly took notice of the impressive lineup.

But the most-liked comment on Harada's post wasn't about the guest list at all. It simply read: "I wish Itagaki could be here too. It's already been a year, and I still can't believe it."

That would be Tomonobu Itagaki, a key creative force behind the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series, who founded Team Ninja and was known for his bold personality and blunt way of speaking. He passed away on October 16, 2025 — and it's now been exactly one year.

Despite Itagaki frequently taking public jabs at the Tekken series and Harada over the years, the two were actually longtime friends. After Itagaki's passing, Harada publicly posted a tribute to his colleague and close friend.

Seeing the community still remember him a year later says a lot about the mark he left on the industry. What's your favorite memory of Itagaki's games? Drop it in the comments — we'd love to hear your stories.