As far as video game companies go, Capcom is perhaps one of the more recognizable. Their reputation has been built over the course of several decades, following their establishment in the late 1970s. Since then, they have developed and published some of the most influential games, like Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil, to name a few.
But inasmuch as their games have helped to define multiple genres and the overall gaming landscape, it is actually the people behind those games that have shaped the company into what it is today. From big-name directors to lesser-known designers and illustrators, here are 10 of the most notable people behind some of their most influential franchises.
10 Shu Takumi - Ace Attorney, Dino Crisis 2, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Shu Takumi is the man behind Ace Attorney, the detective-themed visual novel series that is finally making its way to the West later this month.
He has served as writer and director for the series since its inception in 2001 but actually joined Capcom in 1994. His other credits include Dino Crisis and its sequel, Dino Crisis 2, where he oversaw the production of the game as a director.
9 Tokuro Fujiwara - Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Sweet Home, Mega Man
Tokuro Fujiwara is a video game designer known for his involvement with many classic Capcom games. He served as general manager for the Capcom Console Games Division from 1988 to 1996, during which time he helped produce games in the Mega Man series.
He has also served as a director on games like Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commander, and Sweet Home, the inspiration for the Resident Evil series.
8 Akira Kitamura - Mega Man
Akira Kitamura is a Japanese artist and video game director. He is best known for his work on the Mega Man series, serving as both an artist and director on the very first game. In creating the iconic video game character, he'd drawn inspiration from the likes of Astro Boy and Ninja Captor.
He would also serve as director for the second game in the series but left the company during the development of Mega Man 3. He has since retired from video game development.
7 Kaname Fujioka - Monster Hunter
Fujioka Kaname is a game designer and artist known for his work on the Monster Hunter series of games.
He has served as a director or creative director for practically every game in the series thus far, the latest being Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, which just released for PC and the Nintendo Switch.
6 Ryozo Tsujimoto - Monster Hunter
Ryozo Tsujimoto is the current head of Capcom's Consumer Games Development Division 2, the team responsible for games like Monster Hunter, Onimusha, and Ace Attorney.
Born in 1973, he'd joined the company in 1996, starting as a game planner. His father, Kenzo Tsujimoto, is CEO of the company, while his brother, Haru, is its President. He has served as a producer on the Monster Hunter series since 2007.
5 Yoshiki Okamoto - Final Fight, Street Fighter II, Onimusha
Yoshiki Okamoto is a video game designer whose career started at Konami, where he worked on games like Time Pilot and Gyruss. He joined Capcom in 1984 and is best known for his work on games like Final Fight and Street Fighter II.
He is also the creator of Gun Smoke, a precursor to the Rockstar video games Red Dead and Red Dead Redemption. He more recently created the mobile game Monster Strike for Mixi, a Japanese social networking service, where it became the highest-grossing mobile app of all time.
4 Takashi Nishiyama - Street Fighter
Takashi Nishiyama is best known for creating the Street Fighter franchise. Before working for Capcom, he designed a game called Kung-Fu Master, which is regarded as the very first beat 'em up.
He would work with Hiroshi Matsumoto to create the first game in the Street Fighter series but left Capcom before the development and release of its sequel, Street Fighter II: World Warrior.
3 Hideki Kamiya - Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami
Hideki Kamiya is a game designer and director known for his work on games like Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami.
He joined Capcom in 1994 but left in 2006 to help co-found PlantinumGames with other former staff members of Capcom. Since then, he has directed and supervised games like Bayonetta 1 and 2, The Wonderful 101, and Astral Chain.
2 Keiji Inafune - Mega Man, Onimusha, Dead Rising
Keiji Inafune started off at Capcom in 1987 as an illustrator. His early work included the original Street Fighter and Mega Man games. He would remain at the company until 2010, working on other game series like Lost Planet, Onimusha, and Dead Rising.
At the time of his departure, he was the Global Head of Production. Prior to that, he'd served as the Senior Corporate Officer of Research & Development.
1 Shinji Mikami - Resident Evil, Dino Crisis
Often considered the godfather of horror games, Shinji Mikami is best known for his work on the survival horror games, Resident Evil and Dino Crisis. He joined Capcom in 1990 as a junior game designer and worked on games like the SNES version of Aladdin. His next major project was the original Resident Evil, which started as a remake of Sweet Home.
He was also appointed as general manager of the Capcom Production Studio 4, which was mainly focused on the development of their survival horror games. He left Capcom in 2007. His more recent projects include The Evil Within and its sequel, as well as the forthcoming PS5 console exclusive, Ghostwire: Tokyo.