• News

Creatures Inc. CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara steps down

Creatures President Hirokazu Tanaka has also stepped down.

Donovan Erskine

April 6, 2023 7:07 AM

The Pokemon Company

2

Creatures Inc. has long held the same leadership, but there has now been a major shakeup for the Pokemon and Game Freak affiliate. CEO and cofounder Tsunekazu Ishihara, has stepped down from his position at the company. President Hirokazu Tanaka has also stepped down, and both roles have already been replaced within the company.

Creatures Inc confirmed earlier this week that CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara and President Hirokazu Tanaka had stepped down from their positions at the company. Ishihara was a cofounder of Creatures and had served as the company’s CEO since its establishment in 1995. Tanaka joined Creatures in 1999 and became president in 2000. Yuji Kitano will assume the roles of both CEO and president of Creatures Inc, with Tomotaka Komura serving as his executive VP.

Creatures is an affiliate of The Pokemon Company and Game Freak, working on various aspects of the Pokemon franchise including the Trading Card Game and designing 3D models for the video games. As things currently stand, Tsunekazu Ishihara remains the CEO of The Pokemon Company, though some speculate that the shakeup at Creatures could signal upcoming changes at The Pokemon Company as well.

Pokemon fans are likely familiar with Tsunekazu Ishihara as he has appeared on a number of Pokemon Directs. Most recently, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were released last fall to average reviews. In February, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak announced The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC for Switch games.

Tsunekazu Ishihara and Hirokazu Tanaka held their high-ranking positions at Creatures Inc. for over two decades, which makes today’s news all the more fascinating. The reason for the leadership change is currently unknown, but we’ll be watching closely to see if and how this move impacts Creatures and the Pokemon brand moving forward.

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_