Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night director and lead designer Shutaro Iida is leaving development on the sequel after being diagnosed with cancer…

Shutaro Iida has been involved in many projects that have left a mark on the video game industry. In fact, we are talking about a specialist who was not even present in a Castlevania game. Thanks to this, he designed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, released in 2019, which was released as a spiritual successor to the legendary Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Unfortunately, Iida is retiring from developing the sequel as he has been diagnosed with cancer.

This was announced by the designer himself in his post on X (via VGC). “I, Shutaro, also known as Curry Boy and Curry Sage, have been diagnosed with cancer and have now begun my battle with the disease,” he writes in the post. “I had already started discussing the sequel to Bloodstained and I have various ideas for the game. From now on, I will hand over this work to others. Thank you for your support.”

Koji Igarashi, the producer of Bloodstained and Castlevania, also reposted Iida’s post, adding a personal message: “Up until now, the DS [Castlevania] series and Bloodstained have been produced primarily by director Shutaro,” his post reads. “They can truly be called his works. It is a great blow that he is stepping away from the project, but we will do our best to make up for this. We hope that he will recover soon so we can work together again.”

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: a great spiritual successor

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night caught the attention of many fans of the Castlevania series not only because it continued the legacy of the iconic Symphony of the Night. But also because it invited players to a 2D adventure in the style of the great classics of the nineties. The adventure, starring the young Miriam and the demon hunter Zangetsu, offers the exploration of a vast scenario full of dark passages, deadly traps and secret areas. Although it was released in 2019, it is still considered a modern classic of the genre.

Source: X (1, 2), VGC

これまで、DSシリーズやブラッドステインドは実質的にSHUTAROディレクターを中心に制作を行ってきました。
正に彼の作品と言えるでしょう。
そんな彼がプロジェクトから遠ざかるのは大変な痛手ですが、それに負けぬよう頑張ります。
また一緒に仕事ができるまで回復することを期待します。 https://t.co/YirZi5fYYD

— IGA (@KojiIGA) October 1, 2024