PlatinumGames is open to acquisition but only if it keeps its freedom

metro.co.uk:

CEO Atsushi Inaba has said he’s open to PlatinumGames being acquired by another company, but only if it can remain independent.

With Microsoft and Sony recently making huge studio acquisitions, buying out Activision and Bungie respectively, PlatinumGames’ own CEO, Atsushi Inaba, has commented on whether he’d be open to any acquisition offers.

Speaking with VGC, when asked about the possibility and his thoughts on the Microsoft/Activision buyout, he says that he would only agree to a deal as long as PlatinumGames was able to retain its freedom.

He adds that he expects Microsoft will allow Activision to retain some level of independence once the deal is finalised and that it won’t start micromanaging it.

‘The most important thing for us is to have the freedom to make the games that we want to make,’ says Inaba. ‘What I hear about the recent acquisitions, I don’t think Microsoft is going to start micromanaging Activision to where they take away all their freedom… I don’t think it’s going to be a relationship like that.

‘I think there’s going to be a lot of mutual respect there and I think Activision will be able to continue doing what they do best. That’s also what’s most important to us at the end of the day, whatever form that takes for us and our company. So I would not turn anything down, as long as our freedom was still respected.’

While he doesn’t mention it, this is something Sony is already affording to Bungie. Despite becoming a subsidiary, Bungie will be able to continue releasing its games on other platforms, not just PlayStation.

PlatinumGames is already no stranger to receiving investments. Back in 2020, Chinese company Tencent, which has also pumped money into a number of game studios including Epic Games and