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Former Tango Gameworks dev Ikumi Nakamura forms new studio

No longer involved with the development of Ghostwire Tokyo, Ikumi Nakamura has formed her own studio and is working on her next game.

Donovan Erskine

March 24, 2021 8:40 AM

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Ikumi Nakamura gained a lot of popularity after her passionate presentation at Bethesda’s E3 2019 press conference. Formerly the Creative Director on Ghostwire Tokyo, Nakamura left developer Tango Gameworks just months after her E3 showing. She expressed her interest in starting her own studio, and now that dream is becoming a reality. Ikumi Nakamura announced her new indie studio in Japan in a new documentary video.

A short documentary video was uploaded to the Cutscenes YouTube channel, based around game developer Ikumi Takamura. Titled “Remnant Tour,” this doc follows Nakamura as she travels to abandoned ruins around Japan. In the video, she talks about her early experiences working on games like Devil May Cry, as well as what led to her departure from Tango Gameworks (thanks Play Diaries).

“It arrived to the point it got on my health. You can’t make games if you’re not healthy. I started wondering whether there wasn’t a way for me to make games while feeling better. I took the decision to quit before it was too late,” Nakamura says in the video, citing illness as the primary factor for her leaving Tango Gameworks after nine years. She also shares stories of what overworking did to her coworkers at previous studios.

Ikumi Nakamura also confirms that her indie studio is working on a brand new IP, and that she is serving as creative director for said project. She also talked about some of her philosophies as the person in charge of the studio. She’s looking to hire a diverse team of developers, even if there is a language barrier, because “it’s stimulating to learn about new cultures.” She’s also giving her team freedom to work more independently, cautious not to micromanage or be overbearing.

We don’t have much of an idea what Ikumi Nakamura’s new studio is working on, but when we do, you can expect to read about it right here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_