It looks like PlatinumGames is looking to change some things up in the foreseeable future. The company’s CEO, Atsushi Inaba, was recently interviewed by Japanese publication Famitsu, where he mentioned that the development for future IPs will be changing. According to Inaba, Platinum will be looking to create titles that “can be enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time.” This strongly hints at the prospect of the company going all-in on live service games, which is a complete 180 from their true and tried style, the action-packed single-player genre. This is also something that they’ve apparently been planning for, as they opened a studio back in 2020 for this exact purpose.
PlatinumGames president Inaba told Famitsu that future titles from the company will be “different” from previous works
Inaba wants games that can be “enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time” due to market changeshttps://t.co/UnEr2Bpc7D pic.twitter.com/WCJTZNjXzB
— Nibel (@Nibellion) February 7, 2022
Inaba specifically mentions Project G.G. in this vein, although he quickly changes the subject and states that the game isn’t quite done yet. “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.” The title is an upcoming IP with famed developer/director Hideki Kamiya leading the project and is described as “climax” to Kamiya’s two previous works, Viewtiful Joe and The Wonderful 101.
With the new studio, many were wondering whether Platinum would go all the way with live service games or make it more of a side project. If Inaba’s words are taken in earnest, it looks more and more like they will begin to focus on the former, something that may or may not divide the fan base. Platinum is also in the middle of developing one of the most anticipated sequels in recent memory, Bayonetta 3. They’re also working on Babylon’s Fall and Sol Cresta, both of which are due to launch this year. If Inaba’s plan reaches fruition, these could be some of the last non-live service games to be developed by PlatinumGames.