Top PlatinumGames designer quits studio, starts new game company
Takahisa Taura, who designed Nier Automata and Astral Chain, has officially left
Astral Chain director and Nier Automata designer Takahisa Taura has finally confirmed his exit from PlatinumGames, following months of speculation.
In the latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu (transcribed by Genki), Taura confirmed he has quit Platinum and formed his own company, Eel Game Studio, adding that he couldn’t share more information at this point.
News of Taura’s departure has been expected ever since he removed reference to PlatinumGames from his X handle last year, and changed his place of work on his public Facebook page.
Speculation has swirled in recent months about the future of PlatinumGames’ key staff, after its creative lead Hideki Kamiya announced a new studio backed by Capcom, which is partly made up of former Platinum developers.
In a recent video posted by Kamiya, the Bayonetta designer heavily suggested that other leads had left Platinum, including Bayonetta 3 director Yusuke Miyata, Metal Gear Rising director Kenji Saito, and Anarchy Reigns and Resident Evil character designer Masaki Yamanaka.
“Games are made by people,” Kamiya said in the video. “Wherever they go from here, they’ll create things that only they can… please look forward to their work!”
At the time, a spokesperson for PlatinumGames declined to comment on VGC’s story, when asked if the creators had left the company.
Platinum has remained relatively quiet since Kamiya announced his exit in October 2023, declining interviews and rarely speaking about its future plans.
In January, Platinum broke its silence with a statement about its future, which was followed by the announcement of a new Ninja Gaiden game, which it’s building in collaboration with Koei Tecmo and Microsoft.
Speaking to VGC in a December interview discussing his new studio, Clovers, Hideki Kamiya explained the reason for his decision to quit Platinum.
