Bayonetta and Devil May Cry pioneer Hideki Kamiya is leaving the studio he helped build after nearly 16 years

Bayonetta 3
(Image credit: Platinum)

Action game pioneer Hideki Kamiya is departing PlatinumGames.

The studio first broke the news earlier today, September 25, announcing that Kamiya would be departing the developer next month on October 12. You can see the full statement just below, in which PlatinumGames is saddened to lose one of its undoubted figureheads, as well as a co-founder, but wishes Kamiya all the best going forward.

Kamiya then issued his own statement via his personal Twitter account a few hours later. It was "by no means an easy decision to make," Kamiya notes in the tweet below, but it's clear from the statements from both PlatinumGames and Kamiya that the veteran developer isn't done with making games just yet.

Kamiya founded PlatinumGames almost sixteen years ago in 2007, alongside fellow Resident Evil veteran developer Shinji Mikami, and fellow Devil May Cry developer Atsushi Inaba. Inaba is currently the president of PlatinumGames, while Mikami departed the developer years prior to found Tango Gameworks.

What Kamiya's departure from PlatinumGames also means is that Project GG has lost its director. The studio announced the new action game in 2020, with a boy transforming into a giant machine to fight a kaiju the size of Godzilla, but we've seen or heard nothing of the title whatsoever in the three years since. 

"Project G.G. is a giant hero-esque title," Kamiya said at the time, comparing the new game to the likes of Viewtiful Joe. Where a group of people would transform into one giant hero in the latter game, Project GG would supposedly focus on one hero transforming into an even bigger version of themselves.

You can read our new games 2023 guide for a look over all the other upcoming games to get excited about. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.