Kenichi Sato decided to step down as CEO of Platinum Games as of December 2021. And the new CEO of Platinum Games is the former-vice president Atsushi Inaba. He is also known as the producer of titles such as Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, God Hand, MadWorld, NieR: Automata, and Astral Chain.
The brand new CEO was announced in Platinum Games “president’s message” on their official website. And it reads as follows:
Create, and deliver.
Creating innovative forms of play.
That is the belief PlatinumGames was founded on.
That is something that will never change.
Games come in all different styles for all different kinds of people. At their nature, they are a true expression of liberty: thoughts come together freely to create an idea, to expand upon it, and then, to actually play it. The real enjoyment from games comes from the freedom given to both the creator and user – which is why I believe them to be such an amazing form of entertainment.
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.
Creating a new, enjoyable game starts with the creator being able to enjoy the game themselves. The creator then has to continually build on their idea until they have something that communicates that sense of fun to anyone who experiences it – that consideration of the user makes all the difference.
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.
People speaking different languages, from different backgrounds, all brought together through a controller. Made to smile by a new type of game.
It connects us, and sets us free.
It’s a job that I’m extremely proud of.
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.
President/Studio Head
Atsushi Inaba
Sato will remain in PlatinumGames as an advisor. While Inaba also retains his title of studio head.
While the message is pretty nice, it does not really explain why Sato stepped down. Or what are the plans for the future of PlatinumGames.
Could this be due to backlash for Babylon’s Fall? Many fans of PlatinumGames products shared their shock in comments under the YouTube gameplay reveal. Over the course of two years, Babylon’s Fall turned from an eagerly awaited fast-paced single-player experience. To a live-service co-op game with extremely lackluster combat when one considers PlatinumGames standards.
But until an official statement is released, if ever, we can only speculate.
