Tomonobu Itagaki is a video game rockstar. With his long hair and sunglasses, he has remained loud and outspoken even after leaving his position as the head of Tecmo’s Team Ninja. Via theofficial website of his new studio, Valhalla Game Studios, Itagaki has once again thrown down the gauntlet to other developers. He announced that Valhalla’s first project will be unveiled at the forthcoming E3 Expo.

Valhalla’s independence was a primary reason for Itagaki leaving the company he rebuilt, in addition to issues surrounding bonus pay.

“Our motivation was always to come up with a project from scratch, to gather together and work together as comrades, and to create something that all of you gamers can enjoy,” he said. “It was for this simple goal that we decided to go independent.”

Itagaki tends to talk big about his games, and this time is no different. “In the past, I created four unique games - Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, DOA Xtreme, and NG Dragon Sword. Thus, this announcement will be the fifth all-new project in my lifetime,” said the designer in his blog post. “I don’t know if that number is large or small, but I know as a fact that every one of these announcements was a presentation of a new gaming paradigm from me to all of you. This time, it is no different.”

He also talked about the excitement surrounding the announcement: “My heart pounds with anticipation every time I make these announcements. It’s not something one can get used to – complacency is never an option for me.”