Ikumi Nakamura
中村育美
Born	(1985-10-08) October 8, 1985 (age 39)^{[citation needed]} Japan
Occupation(s)	Video game artist, director
Years active	2004–present^[1]
Employers	Capcom (2004–06) PlatinumGames (2006–10) Tango Gameworks (2010–19) Unseen (2021–present)^[2]
Children	1

Ikumi Nakamura (Japanese: 中村育美, Hepburn: Nakamura Ikumi) is a Japanese video game artist and director. She is best known for her work at Tango Gameworks as an artist on The Evil Within (2014) and The Evil Within 2 (2017), and as creative director for Ghostwire: Tokyo, before leaving the company mid-development. She also did artwork for Ōkami (2006) at Clover Studio, and Bayonetta (2009) at PlatinumGames. She now heads her own independent game studio, Unseen.

Early life

[edit]

Ikumi Nakamura enjoyed horror media with her father growing up. They watched horror films together, and enjoyed playing the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series, both produced by Capcom. She developed an appreciation for the studio and dreamed to work there when she was older. While studying at university, her father died in a motorcycle accident. His death reinforced her desire to work at Capcom.^[1] She attended an art school in Tokyo, and later studied game design at the Amusement Media Academy.^[1]

Career

[edit]

Capcom

[edit]

After applying twice, Nakamura was hired by Capcom in 2004.^[1] She joined the internal development team Clover Studio and created background art for Ōkami (2006).^[1]^[3]

After leaving Tango Gameworks, Nakamura did consulting and freelance jobs.^[1] In March 2021, she announced that she had started a new small independent game studio.^[6]^[1] The studio, Unseen, was formally revealed the following year.^[7] Nakamura expressed her intent for Unseen to create new intellectual properties (IPs) that can function across entertainment media.^[7] She also expressed her desire to continue working on games based in mystery, horror, sci-fi, and the supernatural.^[7] The studio's first game, Kemuri, was revealed at The Game Awards 2023.^[8]

Personal life

[edit]

Nakamura lives in Tokyo.^[1] She had a child in 2020.^[1]^[9]

Works

[edit]

Year	Game	Role
2006	Ōkami	Background production
2009	Bayonetta	Concept art
2011	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	Cinematics
2012	Street Fighter X Tekken	Painter
2014	Ultra Street Fighter IV	Painter
2014	The Evil Within	Lead concept artist
2016	Street Fighter V	Character concept art
2017	The Evil Within 2	Additional art
2022	Ghostwire: Tokyo^[10]	Initial creative director
2022	Gungrave G.O.R.E	Art advisor
TBA	Kemuri	Director

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Hester, Blake (29 September 2021). "The Life And Career Of Ikumi Nakamura". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^ "Ikumi Nakamura". LinkedIn. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^ Grayson, Nathan (10 June 2019). "Ikumi Nakamura Deserved Her E3 Moment". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Ikumi Nakamura". VGC. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ Hernandez, Patricia. "The internet is ready to die for Ikumi Nakamura, the most genuine person at E3". Polygon. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ Oloman, Jordan (24 March 2021). "Fan Favorite Ex-Bethesda Director Ikumi Nakamura Opens Indie Studio". IGN. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Skrebels, Joe (9 March 2022). "Fan Favorite Ex-Bethesda Director Ikumi Nakamura Introduces New Studio, Unseen". IGN. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
^ Stewart, Marcus (7 December 2023). "Ikumi Nakamura Reveals Her Studio's First Title, Kemuri". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
^ Ikumi Nakamura [@nakamura193] (8 July 2020). ""Are you alive?" Yes, I am! I released my new project which went live on June 1st. This will be the longest ongoing project I've ever taken on and I know it will bring the deepest joy and happiness to the world. I'm grateful to be able to help humanity live long and prosper" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ Scullion, Chris (21 March 2022). "Ghostwire Tokyo's former creative director only has a small mention in its credits". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

External links

[edit]

v t e Tango Gameworks
Games	The Evil Within The Evil Within 2 Ghostwire: Tokyo Hi-Fi Rush
People	Shinji Mikami Ikumi Nakamura
Category