A little over one year ago, reports emerged that gaming veteran Shutaro Iida was suffering from health problems, and now it has been announced that he has sadly passed away. The news came via his own X account, where his family explained that he had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, writing:
"Shutaro, known as Curry Sage, who had been battling illness for some time, passed away on February 10 due to pancreatic cancer. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness shown to him during his lifetime and respectfully announce his passing. Although Shutaro's adventure in this world has come to an end, his work lives on. We sincerely hope that you will continue to enjoy the games he created."
And we definitely think people will do just that. Iida was one of the key figures behind the so-called IGAvania era, which saw the release of classic Castlevania titles as well as the spiritual successor Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. He was also the lead programmer on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and began his career at Konami during the Sega Saturn era with titles such as Sexy Parodius and Salamander: Deluxe Pack Plus.
We would like to thank him for all the first-class entertainment, and we will have one last chance to enjoy new work from Iida when Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement is released later this year. He had to discontinue his involvement in 2025, but has still been a strong contributor until then.