PlatinumGames pivoting to live service games, CEO says

By DeAngelo Epps Published February 7, 2022

Atsushi Inaba, PlatinumGames’ co-founder, president, and CEO, recently spoke of a potential future for the celebrated action game development studio in an interview with Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. He hinted at titles “that are different from the past,” with a focus on larger games and live service systems.

“The projects that we are trying to create for the future will be different in terms of their structure,” Inaba said when asked where he’d like Platinum to go next. “Considering the changes in the market over the next five years or so, I think it is absolutely necessary for us to do this.”

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The new CEO largely believes the studio needs to create fewer one-off titles and start pushing more games that “can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time.” The assumed testing phase of this new era can be seen with the recently announced live service hack-and-slash title Babylon’s Fall. However, the current state of the game, as seen in its past closed beta play period, along with this planned shift in focus from the highly acclaimed developers, has many fans worried.

I'd take one-off, well designed titles over something like Babylon Fall's which looks poorly designed.

— Stealth (@Stealth40k) February 7, 2022

Despite any worries fans may have, it seems Platinum is moving full-steam ahead in this new direction with Babylon’s Fall and possibly Hideki Kamiya’s next title, dubbed Project G.G.

“Project G.G. is still in the stage of testing various things, so I can’t tell you much about it, but when it comes to future game production, we want to focus on creating games that are different from the past,” Inaba said when asked about the upcoming title. “I would like to focus on creating games that can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time.”

While Inaba clarifies that he’d still like the company to dabble in one-offs like the Bayonetta series or Astral Chain, it’s unknown if a new shift in plans could interfere with the quality of those projects.

PlatinumGames isn’t the only company that’s putting an emphasis on live service games. Sony plans to launch 10 live services games of its own by March 2026, a move that’ll be aided by its planned acquisition of Bungie.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…

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Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames finally comments on voice acting dispute

Bayonetta touches her glasses in Bayonetta 3.

Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames finally released a statement on Twitter addressing claims by former Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor that she was only offered $4,000 to reprise the titular character.
"We at PlatinumGames offer our sincerest appreciation to everyone who has contributed to creating the Bayonetta series over the years, as well as the community that has served as its foundation," PlatinumGames' tweet reads. "We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta, and align with everything in her statement. We ask people to refrain from any further comments that would disrespect Jennifer or any of the other contributors to the series."
https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/1583302996749787137
The former Bayonetta voice actress made waves on October 15 when she released a series of videos on Twitter claiming that she had only been offered $4,000 to reprise the role in Bayonetta 3, even after rounds of negotiation and a personal plead to PlatinumGames Vice President Hideki Kamiya. She claimed that Jennifer Hale, the new voice actress behind Bayonetta, had "no right to say she is the voice of Bayonetta" and encouraged fans to boycott Bayonetta 3. This resulted in harassment toward Hale, PlatinumGames, and Kamiya, who put out an odd tweet that seemingly called Taylor's videos "sad and deplorable about the attitude of untruth."
The situation continued to escalate, so Jennifer Hale put out a statement (which PlatinumGames references in its own) on October 17 where she says she supports advocating for voice actors to be paid better but is under NDA and "not at liberty to speak regarding this situation." Further Bloomberg and Video Games Chronicle investigations revealed that Taylor was reportedly offered at least $15,000 to reprise the role but asked for a six-figure sum and residuals.
Ultimately, PlatinumGames' initial offer, plus another offer for a smaller cameo in Bayonetta 3, was allegedly turned down by Taylor. While Bloomberg and VGC saw official documentation with PlatinumGames' offer, Taylor claims it's "an absolute lie" and proclaimed that "I would like to put this whole bloody franchise behind me quite frankly get on with my life in the theatre." PlatinumGames does not address the monetary value of its offer to Taylor in its statement, so it's unknown if we'll ever get an official confirmation of what Taylor was actually offered.
Bayonetta 3 will be released exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 28.

Gaming

Bayonetta 3 report claims Hellena Taylor was offered at least $15,000 to reprise role

Bayonetta 3

The original voice actor of Bayonetta, Hellena Taylor, was reportedly offered between $3,000 to $4,000 per recording session to work on Bayonetta 3. The report comes after Taylor claimed she was offered a flat $4,000 to reprise the role, in a series of videos calling on fans to boycott the upcoming game.

According to Bloomberg, Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames was going to have Taylor reprise her role as the character for at least five studio sessions. Each session was reportedly going to pay between $3,000 to $4,000, which would amount to at least $15,000 total. However, Taylor reportedly asked for a total sum of six figures as well as residuals for Bayonetta 3. PlatinumGames declined Taylor's offer and after negotiations, the developer began to look for a new voice actor.

Gaming

Bayonetta 3 voice actress breaks silence amid casting controversy

Bayonetta smirks while falling through the sky below a massive fish-monster in Bayonetta 3.

Jennifer Hale, the voice actress behind Bayonetta in the upcoming Bayonetta 3, has issued a statement about the situation surrounding the character's previous voice actress, Hellena Taylor, and her claims of being underpaid to reprise her role.

Controversy exploded over the weekend when Bayonetta's original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, went to Twitter and claimed how Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames only offered her a $4,000 flat rate to work on the entire game. She urged fans to boycott the game as well. Taylor argued that the payment offer was not adequate in comparison to her years of experience, noting that she had a friend write a letter in Japanese to PlatinumGames executive producer Hideki Kamiya to see if she could be paid a living wage for the game.