PlatinumGames will open a new Tokyo studio dedicated to creating live service games, a notable milestone in an already busy year for the developer.
The new development hub will open in April, with the company’s Osaka office acting as Platinum’s central base of operations. The website update offers several details about the decision, but the most notable comes from studio head Atsushi Inaba who discussed the Tokyo team’s focus on live ops.
“So far, the name PlatinumGames has been nearly synonymous with single-player action games. But going forward, we’re looking to expand into new genres and styles of play. One of these new challenges for us is console live ops game development. These aren’t games we’d work on until they were done, and that’s all — rather, we’d continue working on them to provide new content long after release,” Inaba said in a statement.
The site highlights some of the new talent working in the Tokyo studio, including software divisional vice president Motoi Fujita, who previously worked on live service mobile sports games.
The announcement marks a major change in direction for PlatinumGames, which is most known for its single-player games. CEO Kenichi Sato explained that the studio fits into the company’s new focus for 2020.
“Between our capital alliance with Tencent, the new PlatinumGames Tokyo, and more changes to come, 2020 is shaping up to be a very big year for us. That’s why we consider it something of a “re-establishment” year. Our driving philosophy going into this second phase is that at PlatinumGames, everyone’s a creator,” Sato said in the same press release.
The news is the third of four announcements to come from Platinum’s Four website, which already launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to remaster The Wonderful 101 and announced Project G.G., the company’s first self-published game. All of the developments signify a bright future for Platinum following Tencent’s investment.
But there’s still one announcement left on the Four website, which still leaves room for a big surprise. Fans are still eagerly awaiting news on Bayonetta 3, which Platinum has kept relatively quiet on since announcing it in 2017. It’s unclear if all the changes within the company have shifted its focus from previous projects or if they will continue as planned amid the studio’s reorganization.
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