• The Subject: Yoshiki Okamoto, legendary producer of Street Fighter 2 and Resident Evil.
  • The Pivot: After falling 1.7 billion yen ($11M) into debt, Okamoto rebuilt his fortune via Monster Strike and mobile gacha hits.
  • The Strategy: He spends roughly 80 million yen ($515,000) of his own money on his personal account for every game he produces.
  • The Philosophy: To "understand" the feelings of high-spending players and ensure they don't walk away dissatisfied.

From Capcom Royalty to a 1.7 Billion Yen Hole

Most veteran gamers know Yoshiki Okamoto as the architect behind some of the most influential titles in history. During his Capcom era, he was the driving force behind Final Fight and Street Fighter 2, while holding credits on Resident Evil and Darkstalkers. But the transition to independence wasn't a clean level-up. After founding Game Republic in 2003, the studio hit a brick wall when their American publisher, Brash Entertainment, went bankrupt.

The fallout was catastrophic, leaving Okamoto buried under 1.7 billion yen (nearly $11 million USD) in debt. In a industry where most would have taken the "Game Over" screen and retired, Okamoto pivoted to the mobile market. The result? Monster Strike, a gacha juggernaut that claimed over 65 million players by last December. Today, he’s pulling in 1.2 billion yen ($7.7 million) a year and living in a Malaysian mansion the size of 20 tennis courts.

The $500,000 "Research" Habit

What caught our eye at In Game News isn't just the comeback—it’s how he manages his current portfolio at Deluxe Games. Okamoto isn't just a suit looking at spreadsheets; he’s a whale in his own ecosystem. He admits to dropping roughly $515,000 on his own personal account for each game he’s involved with.

In his own words: "I need to understand what people who spend a lot of money on them think. I do this to make sure the people who spend the most don't end up dissatisfied."

Why Not Use Admin Accounts?

The immediate question from any tech analyst or dev is simple: why not just flip a switch? Most producers would use an admin account with unlimited currency to test mechanics. When hit with this question on social media, Okamoto’s response was pure "veteran gamer" logic. He believes that using a "god mode" account removes the emotional weight of the spend. If he doesn't use his own actual cash, he claims it’s "hard to understand users' feelings."

Our Take: Method Acting for Game Design

We’ve seen plenty of developers claim they "play their own game," but Okamoto is taking it to a level that feels like method acting for game design. There’s a massive disconnect in modern gaming between the "whales" who keep live-service titles afloat and the developers who balance the meta. By forcing himself to feel the sting of a bad pull or the rush of a rare drop with his own bank account, Okamoto is closing that gap.

While most of us will never relate to an $8-million-a-year income or a 20-tennis-court mansion, there is something respectable about a producer who refuses to hide behind developer tools. He wants to feel the same salt we do when the RNG doesn't go his way. It’s an expensive way to balance a game, but considering his 1.2 billion yen annual salary, it's a "min-max" strategy that seems to be paying off for him and his 65 million players.