The exodus of PlatinumGames’ hugely talented developers continues, with Astral Chain director and designer on Nier Automata, Takahisa Taura, confirming that he has also left the studio, though not to follow Hideki Kamiya to Clovers. Instead, Taura founded Eel Game Studio with a few other founding members.
In an interview with Famitsu (transcribed by Genki, spotted by VGC), Taura confirmed his departure from Platinum and the founding of his new studio, but wouldn’t say who the other founding members are. He also confirmed that despite beginning this new adventure, he’ll still collaborate with Yoko Taro, Yosuke Saito, and Keiichi Okabe on an unannounced project.
All four were key members of Nier Automata, so this unannounced project could potentially be Nier-related, but it’s still too early to tell.
Hideki Kamiya, former creative lead at PlatinumGames and one of the studio’s founders, left Platinum in 2023, kicking up a YouTube channel at first while working to form another new studio, Clovers. Which, as fans of Kamiya’s work immediately recognized, was a callback to a studio Kamiya previously founded, Clover.
In an interview with VGC last year, Kamiya confirmed that the developers who started Clovers with him were mainly former PlatinumGames members, and that he left Platinum mostly because he was unsatisfied there.
“If I was satisfied at Platinum, then I wouldn’t have left. If there was one thing I am worried about, it’s the fact I was VP and chief game designer of PlatinumGames. And so with me quitting, I worry about the people there, the staff there. Of course, if they’re motivated and happy at Platinum, I believe that’s the right path for them. But if there are others whose mindset aligns more with what we’re building here at Clovers, we want to welcome and provide a path for them, too. I see that as a responsibility I have to those people after leaving Platinum.“
Of course, Kamiya is speaking for himself, but his words raise questions about how things are internally at Platinum. Taura, like Kamiya, is another massive talent the studio is missing now.
This is not to say that PlatinumGames is without talented developers. It’s just to point out that Platinum was a happy home for some of the best and most storied developers in the video game industry for years until it wasn’t. It’ll be interesting to see how the studio continues to evolve.
And regarding Taura and Eel Game Studio, hopefully it’s not too long before we see what they’re working on.
