In a surprise announcement on Wednesday this week, Creative Director Ikumi Nakamura announced that she is parting ways with Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks and its parent company Bethesda/ ZeniMax. Ikumi Nakamura was on stage at E3 2019 during Bethesda’s presentation to announce the new “spooky” project Ghostwire: Tokyo, winning over the audience and the internet in the process.
Nakamura began working with Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami’s Tango Gameworks a year after it was formed and before it was acquired by Zenimax. Before serving as Creative Director on Ghostwire: Tokyo, Nakamura was an Art Director on Tango Gameworks’s The Evil Within, working on character, logo, and enemy design as well as the game’s DLC. Nakamura also worked on concept art for the sequel The Evil Within 2. Before joining up with Tokyo Gameworks, Nakamura was an environment artist on Okami for Capcom and a concept artist on Bayonetta for PlatinumGames.
“For several years, I have been doing my best to create the GhostWire: Tokyo which I’ve felt like my child,” Nakamura posted to her LinkedIn post about her departure from Tokyo Gameworks. “I’ve also decided to proceed to the new world I can keep myself happy and somebody require me. Now the huge world is showing me infinite possibilities, like an open-world video game. Life [is] NOT linear.”
As of now, it’s unclear what Nakamura’s separation from the Tokyo Gameworks development studio will mean for the future of Ghostwire: Tokyo, as her energy and involvement at the game’s E3 presentation seemed to be a big part of what made people excited about its release. Although no release date has been announced, it’s possible that the project is close to completion and Nakamura is ready to move on to work on something new. A lot of fans will be eagerly waiting to see what Nakamura works on next.