Former Bayonetta Origins Director Joins Sony’s Housemarque

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Summary

  • The director of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon has left PlatinumGames for a lead game designer role at Returnal developer Housemarque.
  • PlatinumGames has seen the departures of some key developers recently, raising some worries about the studio’s current direction.
  • Housemarque has been working on a new IP since the launch of Returnal in 2021.

The director who was working on “Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon” by PlatinumGames has now left the company to work with Housemarque, the developers of “Returnal”. This news emerges during what appears to be a challenging period for PlatinumGames. The departure of the main creative mind behind “Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon” adds to the growing speculation about the studio’s future plans.

In September 2023, Hideki Kamiya, the main developer at PlatinumGames located in Osaka, announced his departure from the studio. He stated that his decision was due to a disagreement over the direction PlatinumGames was taking compared to what he personally wanted as a game developer. A year later, at The Game Awards 2024, Kamiya was unexpectedly revealed to be spearheading the development of Capcom’s sequel to Okami, and even resurrected Clover Studio. This exciting announcement sparked worries about PlatinumGames’ future.

Right after the exciting announcement of the Okami sequel, whispers started circulating about some key PlatinumGames developers departing from the studio. Their social media accounts had mysteriously scrubbed any traces of the upcoming project. One of these was Abebe Tinari, the director behind 2023’s Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. In a surprising turn of events, Tinari himself confirmed that he’d bid farewell to Japan and set sail for Helsinki, Finland. Now, his LinkedIn profile is singing a different tune, signaling that the former PlatinumGames developer has seized an opportunity to lead game design at Housemarque.

Bayonetta Origins Director Now Working on Housemarque’s New IP

After launching the highly-praised roguelike shooter “Returnal” in May 2021, Housemarque was bought by PlayStation. Since then, they’ve been developing a new original project, and it looks quite possible that Tinari will contribute to this upcoming game as well. The release date for Housemarque’s next project is still unknown, but many enthusiasts believe an announcement won’t happen before 2026 at the earliest.

Regarding PlatinumGames, it’s too early to determine the exact influence of recent key personnel departures on their upcoming projects. The studio has recently announced a year-long celebration for Bayonetta’s 15th anniversary, potentially hinting at a new installment in the series. Additionally, PlatinumGames has been developing a new IP called Project GG since 2020. However, since Hideki Kamiya, who was leading Project GG, has left the company, it remains uncertain if the project’s development pace will be affected.

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2025-01-07 21:09