Rumor: Several PlatinumGames Veterans Have Seemingly Left The Company

Following the departure of co-founder Hideki Kamiya last year, it seems PlatinumGames’ may have lost several other veterans from the company.

As pointed out in Reddit by users Joseki100 and PlatinumGamesFanboy, several veterans from Platinum have updated their social media accounts to remove all references to the company. This includes Metal Gear Rising‘s Kenji Saito, Astral Chain and NieR: Automata‘s Takahisa Taura, The Wonderful 101‘s Masaki Yamanaka and Bayonetta Origins director Abebe Tinari. Tinari’s profile even says that he has left Japan and moved to Helsinki.

That said, these changes aren’t necessarily confirmation that these individuals have left Platinum, a recent post from Tinari addressing the situation seems to suggest that it is indeed the case. Tinari mentions that he plays a “small part” in the directors leaving Platinum, and wishes the company all the best in their future endeavours.

I have seen some talk about directors departing PlatinumGames (in which I play a small part.)

Games are not made by a single person.

There are many talented Artists, Designers, Programmers, and Musicians still at PG. I suggest you do not count them out yet.

I can’t wait to see what they do next!

— Abebe Tinari (@tinari.bsky.social) December 15, 2024 at 5:01 PM

Although an official reason for the departures has not been shared, a recent interview between Hideki Kamiya and denfaminicogamer suggests that it may be due to creative differences. Kamiya says (via machine translation) that he felt like his “artistic spirit would die” if he stayed at Platinum.

“This is purely my personal opinion, but I thought, ‘If I continue working here, my artistic spirit will die’. I can understand the way PlatinumGames is as a company and its logic, and I was in the position of vice president myself, but as an individual named Hideki Kamiya, I was unable to embrace that way of thinking.”

“The signals sent from the cerebrum are essential for muscles, at the same time, those signals must be reliable for muscles. Until then, I had received those signals, trusted them, and worked to maximize my own strength…but with regards to the future direction of Platinum with Inaba at the helm, I was no longer able to place my trust in them and exert my strength as a muscle.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.