Summary

  • Several key directors seem to have left PlatinumGames, leaving some fans to wonder about the studio's future.
  • In 2023, Bayonetta creator and studio co-founder Hideki Kamiya parted ways with PlatinumGames after almost 20 years.
  • The directors of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, Astral Chain, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance also seem to have left.

Even more game directors have seemingly left PlatinumGames, causing fans to wonder about the studio’s future. The past few years have been a mixed bag for PlatinumGames, with many of the developer’s key staff members leaving to pursue other ventures. The most prominent of these departures was Bayonetta creator and PlatinumGames co-founder Hideki Kamiya, who parted ways with PlatinumGames in 2023 after almost 20 years. He would later explain that he felt PlatinumGames was going in a direction different from his own viewpoint as a developer.

More staff members would seemingly follow Kamiya, with past rumors claiming that Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon director Abebe Tinari, Astral Chain director Takahisa Taura, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance director Kenji Saito, and Anarchy Reigns character designer Masaki Yamanaka would be leaving PlatinumGames. Tinari in particular confirmed his departure by revealing that he had moved out of Japan completely.

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More evidence of these prominent PlatinumGames directors leaving the company recently surfaced in the form of a video shared by Hideki Kamiya on his YouTube channel. As noted by VGC, this video included a “bonus” segment showing what Kamiya describes as a “former PlatinumGames directors’ drinking party,” consisting of himself, Abebe Tinari, Takahisa Taura, Kenji Saito, Masaki Yamanaka, and Bayonetta 3 director Yusuke Miyata. So far, PlatinumGames has yet to comment on this development officially, and it isn't clear where these now-former staff members are going now.

PlatinumGames Seemingly Loses Five Major Game Directors

In 2024, Hideo Kamiya formed Clovers Inc., a version of the old Clover Studios that is currently working on the Okami sequel. According to Kamiya, many former PlatinumGames alumni have joined him at Clovers, including co-founder and former Project GG designer Kento Koyama. A recent staff photo also features Bayonetta and Astral Chain cinematic director Kunihiko Tsuda, Metal Gear Rising lead animator Hirokazu Takeuchi, and Bayonetta series animator Rei Yamamoto, though this isn’t a concrete confirmation that they are indeed working at Clovers.

Meanwhile, PlatinumGames is joining forces with Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja on Ninja Gaiden 4, which is set to release this fall. On the other hand, the status of Hideki Kamiya’s Project GG has been called into question ever since he left the company, with its recent removal from PlatinumGames’ website and lack of updates beforehand leaving some gamers to wonder if it has been canceled. Additionally, a social media update from Takahisa Taura recently hinted that he might be forming his own studio based in Tokyo.