PlatinumGames’ Kenichi Sato steps down as president and CEO

PlatinumGames’ Kenichi Sato has announced he will no longer serve as the company’s president and CEO, positions he’s held at the Bayonetta and Nier: Automata studio since 2016, with Atsushi Inaba set to take on the roles.

Announcing the news in a statement shared on the developer’s website, Sato wrote, “As of the end of last year, I have resigned from my post as CEO and president of PlatinumGames and entrusted Vice President Atsushi Inaba as my successor.”

“I started as president of PlatinumGames back in April of 2016 with the goal of bringing smiles to all our fans the world round,” Sato continued. “After forming a partnership with Tencent in December 2019, I opened a new office in Tokyo to expand our development team, and ultimately was able to kick off our first self-publishing ventures, something which had been a dream of the company for a long, long time.

“Currently I feel that PlatinumGames is ready to push forward towards more innovative forms of play, and so now is better a time than ever to hand the reigns to Inaba, who has led the initiative on building the company’s creative output for many years now.”

Sato says he will continue to be involved with PlatinumGames in an advisory position, “offering my help where needed”, concluding, “I hope all our fans will continue their patronage to PlatinumGames under its new leadership.”

As for Inaba, he previously served as CEO and producer at Capcom’s beloved Clover Studio – the team responsible for the likes of Okami, Viewtiful Joe, and God Hand – before co-founding Platinum in 2007 alongside Shinji Mikami, Hideki Kamiya, and Tatsuya Minami. At Platinum, Inaba has worked as the studio’s head producer and he’ll retain that duty alongside his new CEO and president roles.

In a separate statement on Platinum’s website, Inaba shared some insight on his approach to game making, writing, “Approaching ‘fun’ with complete sincerity has always been important to me. I believe every one of our staff take pride that they are entertainers, always attempting the perfect balance between play and professionalism.”

“Our overarching goal for entering self-publishing has been unchanged since its conception: to invent something new and share it with the rest of the world – showing our sincerity towards creation every step of the way…As I move forward towards the new challenges of the future, I hope to provide more and more experiences for all our users to enjoy.”

PlatinumGames has a number of publicly announced project’s currently in the works, including the long-awaited Bayonetta 3 – due to arrive on Switch later this year – alongside Square Enix’s action-RPG Babylon’s Fall, set for a release this March, plus Sol Cresta, a sequel to cult-classic arcade shooters Moon Crest and Terra Cresta. A fourth title, codenamed Project GG, was announced back in February 2020. This will be Platinum’s first self-published game and was previously teased as a new live service game for consoles.