Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama passes on at 55

Suikoden creator and director of Eiyuden Chronicles, Yoshitaka Murayama, has died due to an ongoing illness. He was only 55 years old.

Murayama was working on Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes at Rabbit & Bear Studios, founded with his fellow Suikoden creator Junko Kawano, and will sadly never see fan reaction to his latest work.

Rabbit & Bear Studios released the following statement:

"Murayama first began this journey of the creation of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes in 2020 through the support of his very loving fans on Kickstarter. Throughout the three-plus-year-development of the game, it was always the passion from his fans that continued to drive his creative vision and motivate him to put his all into the project."

"His hard work on Eiyuden Chronicle as scenario writer was finished but as his co-workers and friends, it saddens us to know that he won’t get to see the reactions from his fans. However, even with those feelings we need to accept the reality that he is no longer with us and continue to push his dream forward by releasing Eiyuden Chronicle to the world. We want to maintain his legacy and vision with this game and know that he would have wanted the rich world he has created with Eiyuden Chronicle to live on."

Murayama's work on Suikoden was much-loved by JRPG fans, the series consistently making top 10 lists and even considered the greatest of all time by many, especially Suikoden II. Eiyuden Chronicles has received a lot of positive press and looks set to be just as good as its predecessor.

The family have asked for privacy during this time, our thoughts are with his friends and family.