Hideki Kamiya, one of the co-founders of PlatinumGames and director of a number of notable games, including Bayonetta, Ōkami and Devil May Cry, has launched his own YouTube channel and posted his first video following his departure from PlatinumGames today (October 12).
The announcement of Kamiya’s departure was made last month in a statement from PlatinumGames - the studio wished him the best, and stated that it was “truly grateful for his creative ideas, leadership and contribution”. Kamiya released his own statement thanking fans for their support, and said: “I realized once again that I was only able to be who I am because of the support of the people around me. I will continue to be grateful for the help of others."
Now, as VGC reports, Kamiya has released a video on his newly launched channel (simply named Hideki Kamiya Channel) discussing his departure from the company, and has explained what he plans to do next.
“I WAS executive vice president, and chief game designer at PlatinumGames. NOT ANY MORE,” Kamiya said (via his translated video subtitles). “I am Hideki Kamiya, unemployed. Welcome to my channel. I’m out of [a] job. Please subscribe.”
Speaking about why he decided to leave the company, Kamiya said, laughing: “How should I put it… Umm… THERE’S NO WAY I CAN PUT IT. You guys understand, right?
“But I’d say, I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator,” he continued. “And to choose the path I think is right and move on. Yeah, so I’m not going to retire yet. I want to keep creating games.”
While he’s not retiring, Kamiya stated that he’s unable to take another job in the games industry for a year, “due to reasons”. “It’ll be a while until I bring good news to you all. It’ll take time. But I’ll make it happen,” he said.
Wrapping up the video, Kamiya added that he’ll continue to post content on his channel, which will be “COMPLETELY USELESS to making games”. Acknowledging that he has “no specific plans for YouTube”, he hopes to get some ideas from viewers’ comments.
For some great game recommendations, be sure to take a look at our lists of the best single-player games and best PC games.
