Dragon’s Dogma 2 Game Director Hideaki Itsuno stated that he is proud of his work, even though the game received mixed reviews from players. The developer noted that he expected such a reaction because his project is "not for everyone."
"I'm not Nintendo, and I'm not making a game for everyone, but only for a specific audience. Therefore, it's normal that people outside this group didn't like my game. But those who liked the game really loved it, appreciating all the details and the work done. I am very proud of this."
The game received generally positive reviews from critics, but player opinions remain mixed. On Steam, user reviews fluctuate, and on Metacritic, the average critic score is 86 out of 100, while the average user score is only 6.5 out of 10.
After many years of work, Itsuno left Capcom and joined the new studio Lightspeed, founded by a group of Japanese industry veterans. According to him, Capcom is too focused on sequels to well-known franchises instead of creating new brands. The developer sees working on a new AAA game at Lightspeed as a "last big chance" in his career.
He noted that the production of a AAA game takes 4–5 years, so the premiere will coincide with his retirement. He made the decision to leave Capcom while working on Dragon’s Dogma 2, but stayed until the completion of the project and post-release updates.
