PlatinumGames Loses Another Game Director

Summary

Takahisa Taura, the Astral Chain co-director, has left PlatinumGames after over a decade, joining the list of high-profile exits.
Hideki Kamiya, a co-founder, also previously left the company, opening his firm, Clovers.
PlatinumGames is still working on Ninja Gaiden 4, with reports hinting at a new NieR entry and a live-service title in the works.

Veteran game developer, Takahisa Taura, has confirmed his departure from PlatinumGames, following months of speculation around his latest status. This marks another major exit from PlatinumGames, which has witnessed multiple key staff members bid farewell to the company in recent years.

Since being founded in 2007 by veteran devs, including Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, Japan-based PlatinumGames has built an admirable reputation in the gaming industry. This is down to the success of third-party projects, such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, as well as original IPs, Bayonetta and Astral Chain. The latter project is of special significance here, in particular, as it was spearheaded by the studio's latest lead to have confirmed his departure, Taura, who co-directed the 2019 Switch title. Besides Astral Chain, the Japanese dev also contributed to some well-received releases, such as NieR: Automata, MadWorld, and more, in the game designer role. Owing to such an impressive legacy at the company, Taura's exit has surfaced as a worrying update for PlatinumGames fans.

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By Rohan James Hill

In a Famitsu interview (spotted by industry watcher, Genki), Takahisa Taura put the rumors around his employment status to bed by revealing his departure from PlatinumGames after well over a decade. This confirmation comes several months after reports emerged about the dev dropping the Japanese studio's initials from his Twitter username and changing his place of work on his Facebook profile. Alarmingly, this news has surfaced around the same time as the rumored departures of certain other high-ranking PlatinumGames devs, suggesting a significant exodus may have taken place at the organization. Taura also shared that he has since shifted attention to his own company, named Eel Game Studio, where he is one of the founders.

Astral Chain Game Director Joins the List of PlatinumGames High-Profile Departures

After his exit, Taura has become the latest veteran to quit PlatinumGames, following in the footsteps of some big names who have made the same decision in the recent past. Notably, Hideki Kamiya, one of the founders of the Bayonetta maker, also said goodbye to the team after over 15 years due to disagreements over the direction the studio was headed. Similar to Taura, the Resident Evil 2 lead is currently taking care of responsibilities at his own firm called Clovers.

Despite the growing list of departures, PlatinumGames continues to work on its next major launch, Ninja Gaiden 4, which is set to hit the shelves later in 2025. Additionally, there are reports that hint towards a brand-new NieR entry as well as a live-service title being in development at the Japanese studio.

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