Koji Igarashi

Koji Igarashi
Koji Igarashi at the Game Developers Conference in 2007.
Born	(1968-03-17) March 17, 1968 (age 48)
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Castlevania

Koji Igarashi (五十嵐 孝司, Igarashi Kōji^?), also known by the nickname IGA, is a video game designer and producer. He is best known as the assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, his first major involvement in the Castlevania series. He served as producer on the series between Castlevania Chronicles and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. He has been involved in other titles such as the Japan-only RPG Elder Gate and Nano Breaker and the dating sim Tokimeki Memorial.

After graduating from college, Igarashi sought employment in the video game industry. He was interviewed at a company, but an argument with its Human Resources department prevented him securing a job. A mentor of Igarashi then suggested he work at Konami, where the mentor worked. Igarashi passed the application exam, but lacked the university credits to work full-time. He worked part-time at Konami for a year while he attended school. In 1990, Igarashi switched to a full-time capacity. His first project was a simulation game for the Educational Software department. The title, however, was never released. Igarashi's first game to be released was Detana! Twinbee. Igarashi informed his boss that he had no desire to work on a sequel to Tokimeki Memorial, and requested a departmental transfer. The strong sales of the game prompted his boss to agree, and Igarashi asked to join the Castlevania development team. He left Konami in 2014 to form his own studio. On May 11, 2015 Igarashi launched a Kickstarter campaign for his new project Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to his Metroidvania style of Castlevania. The project was funded just hours after its opening.