Koei Tecmo has announced some organizational and personnel changes among its development studios, effective April 1, 2026. According to the notice, the reshuffling is meant to optimize the company’s organizational structure in response to changes in the business environment.
What stands out most among the announced changes is that Team Ninja’s Division 1 is now scheduled to be transferred to Gust and officially become Gust’s “Division 2.” To begin with, Team Ninja is made up of two divisions, with Division 1 led by Dead or Alive Xtreme series producer Yasunori Sakuda. The dev team has been largely dedicated to development of live-service titles like Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme, as well as co-development of Gust’s Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator (source: 4Gamer). This division will now formally become part of Gust.
On the other hand, Team Ninja’s remaining Division 2 is led by Kohei Shibata, producer/PM of the Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, and mainline Dead or Alive series. This division will also go through some changes – splitting into a new Division 1 and 2 as of April. Koei Tecmo hasn’t provided any details about what the respective teams will be in charge of yet.
When it comes to personnel, it seems there won’t be any major changes in leadership, as Yasunori Sakuda will continue to be the leader of Gust’s Division 2 (the former Team Ninja Division 1). Likewise, Kohei Shibata will be in charge of the new Team Ninja Division 1 (created from the split of the current Division 2).
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Koei Tecmo made significant investments in further development of its in-house game engine, the Katana Engine