Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Double Dragon Creator, Dies at 64

Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the pioneering video game designer behind the influential beat 'em up series Double Dragon and Kunio-kun, died on April 2, 2026, at the age of 64.

His son, Ryubo Kishimoto, announced the death in posts on Facebook and X, written in Japanese. "I am Yoshihisa Kishimoto's son," he wrote. "This may come as a sudden announcement, but my father passed away on April 2, 2026. We are deeply grateful for all the kindness you showed him during his lifetime. Please accept our apologies for holding a private family funeral. We hope you will continue to enjoy my father's works, including those featuring Kunio-kun." The family requested privacy and did not disclose a cause of death.

Kishimoto's career began in the early 1980s at Data East, where he contributed to laserdisc-based games such as Cobra Command and Road Blaster, both released in 1984. He later joined Technos Japan, the studio that became synonymous with his most enduring creations. In 1986, he designed and directed Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun, known internationally as Renegade. The game introduced key mechanics to the beat 'em up genre, including free movement in multiple directions across a scrolling plane and...