Industry legend Hideki Kamiya has announced that he's leaving PlatinumGames, the studio he co-founded, after 15 years.
In a message on the official PlatinumGames X account, the studio announces Kamiya-san's departure, which will come into effect on October 12th.
Platinum thanks Kamiya-san for his "creative ideas, leadership, and contribution to the growth of PlatinumGames" from the studio's inception to the present day.
Furthermore, Platinum says it's "looking forward" to seeing the gaming industry "grow into a better place" as a result of whatever Kamiya-san decides to do now.
Kamiya-san confirmed his departure on his own personal X account as well.
According to Kamiya-san, his decision came "after a lot of consideration based on [his] own beliefs" and was not an easy decision to come to.
Kamiya-san says that he feels his departure is "for the best", and that he will "continue to create in [his] Hideki Kamiya way", asking fans to keep their eyes peeled for whatever he does next.
PlatinumGames was originally founded in 2007 by Kamiya-san, alongside fellow legend Shinji Mikami, current CEO Atsushi Inaba, and Resident Evil producer Tatsuya Minami.
The studio's first title was the Wii brawler MadWorld, released in 2009.
Bayonetta, which remains one of PlatinumGames' best-known franchises, debuted in 2009 as well. It's still going strong today, having received a third installment just last year.
Kamiya-san's other well-known directorial efforts include canine adventure Okami and superhero action game The Wonderful 101, with the latter getting a Kickstarted remaster back in 2020.
It's not clear what Kamiya-san intends to do next after his time with PlatinumGames.
If he follows the pattern set by several of his contemporaries, then he may find himself joining Chinese gaming giant NetEase.
He'd be in good company, finding himself alongside luminaries like ex-Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura, former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, and Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi.
Of course, nothing has been announced yet, so I'm just speculating, but if Kamiya-san did join NetEase, it would certainly fit an emerging pattern.
We'll have to wait and see, but one thing's for sure: Kamiya-san's departure from PlatinumGames marks the end of an era.
