This past weekend, the family of veteran Castlevania and Bloodstained developer Shutaro Iida revealed that he had passed away on February 10th, 2026, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Currently working on the upcoming Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, Iida had previously worked at Konami from 1996 until 2015 and was involved in the programming side of many classic titles. He would eventually begin directing some of the games starting with Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, and was the director for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
Diagnosed with the disease in September 2024, he had continued work on the new Bloodstained as a final gift to fans of both series. In a final message on his personal Twitter account roughly 11 days before his passing, Iida wrote, “I’m reaching my limit. I’m painfully aware that I’m getting weaker with each passing day. Please love the upcoming Bloodstained 2 and the games I create.”
Following the news, longtime Castlevania steward Koji Igarashi gave a lengthy tribute on Twitter to his fallen comrade. “It is so sad to see him go, but there is also a sense of relief knowing that he is now free from his suffering,” Igarashi wrote. “I hope that you can take some time to rest now, as you have been running at full speed up until now.” He vowed to put his heart and soul into the new Bloodstained game so that he could do Iida proud.
Check out more content about Castlevania
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is the first new Castlevania title in 12 years
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness’ Konami Code discovered after 25 years
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
