In September 2023, game developer and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya left PlatinumGames. Since Kaimya was one of the studio’s founding members and later its Vice-President, this announcement came as a shock to fans around the globe. Since then, Kamiya has addressed the situation with his characteristic sense of humor, answering questions from fans on his newly opened YouTube channel
Born in 1970 in Shinshu Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Kamiya began his career at Capcom, where he was the director on Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Beautiful Joe and Okami. He later cofounded PlatinumGames, where he directed Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101, before becoming Vice-President, as well as the head of all the studio’s development teams.
IGN Japan sat down with Kamiya at an open workspace in Osaka to find out more about why he left PlatinumGames, his plans for his YouTube channel, and what he’s planning to do when his garden leave expires next year. He also talked about his relationship with his Capcom mentor Shinji Mikami, with whom he will be sharing a stage for a joint interview this weekend.
You have talked about it already to some degree, but why did you decide to leave PlatinumGames?
“My work with PlatinumGames was based on a relationship of trust with the company. I decided to leave because I felt that the direction the company was heading in was different from my beliefs as a developer. Without that element of trust, I couldn’t continue working there, and so I left, so that I could continue working in what I consider to be the right way.
“I don't think of games as products, but rather as works of art. I want to put my artistry into games and deliver games that could only be made by Hideki Kamiya, so that players can enjoy Hideki Kamiya games exactly as they are. I decided to leave the company and forge my own path, to continue making games that reflect the developers who made them.”
When you decided to leave, how did PlatinumGames President and your longtime business partner Atsushi Inaba take the news? And how did your team of developers react?
“I had many deep discussions with Inaba, and I came to my decision to leave only after we had agreed. Inaba also has his own set of beliefs as the head of the company. Although his beliefs differed from my own, we talked it out thoroughly, so we were both satisfied with the conclusion we reached.
“The reaction from the development teams was different. I never took my role at the company lightly, but I realized at that moment that they trusted me more deeply than I had expected. The fact that many of the team seemed so sad about it made me think deeply about this point.
“First, I explained the reasons for my decision to quit to the whole team as a group. After that, I told them that anyone was welcome to come to talk with me privately at any time, and many of them did. Some of them sat and talked with me for two or three hours, some cried, and some others thought my decision to leave was irresponsible. Some of them said that they came to work at PlatinumGames because they wanted to work with me specifically.
“I don’t regret my decision to quit – I think this was the right decision, and it was a decision I made out of respect for my own stance as a developer. However, it makes me sad to think that I can’t work with the staff on my team anymore. I feel sorry about that
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Born in 1970 in Shinshu Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Kamiya began his career at Capcom, where he was the director on Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Beautiful Joe and Okami. He later cofounded PlatinumGames, where he directed Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101, before becoming Vice-President, as well as the head of all the studio’s development teams.
IGN Japan sat down with Kamiya at an open workspace in Osaka to find out more about why he left PlatinumGames, his plans for his YouTube channel, and what he’s planning to do when his garden leave expires next year. He also talked about his relationship with his Capcom mentor Shinji Mikami, with whom he will be sharing a stage for a joint interview this weekend.
You have talked about it already to some degree, but why did you decide to leave PlatinumGames?
“My work with PlatinumGames was based on a relationship of trust with the company. I decided to leave because I felt that the direction the company was heading in was different from my beliefs as a developer. Without that element of trust, I couldn’t continue working there, and so I left, so that I could continue working in what I consider to be the right way.
“I don't think of games as products, but rather as works of art. I want to put my artistry into games and deliver games that could only be made by Hideki Kamiya, so that players can enjoy Hideki Kamiya games exactly as they are. I decided to leave the company and forge my own path, to continue making games that reflect the developers who made them.”
When you decided to leave, how did PlatinumGames President and your longtime business partner Atsushi Inaba take the news? And how did your team of developers react?
“I had many deep discussions with Inaba, and I came to my decision to leave only after we had agreed. Inaba also has his own set of beliefs as the head of the company. Although his beliefs differed from my own, we talked it out thoroughly, so we were both satisfied with the conclusion we reached.
“The reaction from the development teams was different. I never took my role at the company lightly, but I realized at that moment that they trusted me more deeply than I had expected. The fact that many of the team seemed so sad about it made me think deeply about this point.
“First, I explained the reasons for my decision to quit to the whole team as a group. After that, I told them that anyone was welcome to come to talk with me privately at any time, and many of them did. Some of them sat and talked with me for two or three hours, some cried, and some others thought my decision to leave was irresponsible. Some of them said that they came to work at PlatinumGames because they wanted to work with me specifically.
“I don’t regret my decision to quit – I think this was the right decision, and it was a decision I made out of respect for my own stance as a developer. However, it makes me sad to think that I can’t work with the staff on my team anymore. I feel sorry about that
Hideki Kamiya On Why He Left PlatinumGames, His YouTube Channel, and His Next Game - IGN
In a wide-ranging interview with IGN, game developer legend Hideki Kamiya reveals why he left Bayonetta maker PlatinumGames and what's next.
