Nihon Falcom Founder Masayuki Kato Died

Nihon Falcom announced that its founder Masayuki Kato died on December 15, 2024, and it happened at the age of 78. With the passing of Kato, Nihon Falcom will also be looking at filling the spot of chairman of its board of directors.

The company expressed its condolences to Masayuki Kato’s family. At the time of writing, there has been no information on the cause of death. Kato’s family have also expressed their wish to mourn his passing in private.

Masayki Kato founded Nihon Falcom on March 1981 and began acting as its Representative Director. In December 2023, Kayo became a chairman for the board of directors at Nihon Falcom. While the passing of Masayuki Kato leaves Falcom with one less chairman in the board, the total number of directors still complies with Japanese law and the company will continue operating as such.

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese game development company, and it is behind the creation of popular titles such as the Ys series, the Xanadu series, and The Legend of Heroes series, with its most notable titles being the Trails games, among others.

Some games developed by Nihon Falcom include Ys X: Nordics released on October 25, 2024 for Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC, as well as the upcoming The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II coming out on February 14, 2025 for the same platforms. Additionally, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st, a complete remake of the first title in the Trails series, was revealed back in August 2024 and will come out for Switch in 2025.

Nihon Falcom founder Masayuki Kato died on December 15, 2024 of unknown causes. He was 78 years old and an active chairman at the board of directors of the company.