Platinum Games' new CEO hints at live-service ambitions

gamedeveloper.com:

Platinum Games newly appointed CEO Atsushi Inaba wants the studio to develop titles that can be "enjoyed and loved for a longer period of time."

Inaba replaced former CEO and president Kenichi Sato earlier this year, and during a recent interview with Famitsu (translated by VGC) discussed his ambitions for the Bayonetta and Nier: Automata developer.

Specifically, Inaba said he wants to create games "that are different to the past," and indicated that could mean a focus on live-service type projects as opposed to "one-off, well designed" releases like Bayonetta.

Inaba clarified that Platinum will continue to work on "small but brilliantly conceived games" and standalone titles, but said the Japanese company needs to adapt to a changing market that favours longevity.

"The projects that we are trying to create for the future will be different in terms of their structure. Considering the changes in the market over the next five years or so, I think it is absolutely necessary for us to do this," he added. "I’m sorry for being so vague, but I think that’s all I can tell you right now."

This isn't the first time Platinum has expressed a desire to branch into new markets. In 2020, the company opened a new development hub in Tokyo to explore "console live ops development" and create new franchises, adding that it hoped to "expand into new genres and styles of play."

"These aren’t games we’d work on until they were done, and that’s all -- rather, we’d continue working on them to provide new content long after release," said Inaba, who was EVP and studio head of the Tokyo development hub at the time. "We want to explore this ongoing development pattern in the home console space."