As one of the founders of Platinum Studios, the news of Hideki Kamiya leaving the studio in October shocked many people. Now, he's finally starting to reveal why he left. In a recent interview with IGN, he revealed some specifics about his departure from the studio, saying he didn't like the way the company was currently developing.
In the interview, he said: "My cooperation with Platinum Studios was based on a trusting relationship. I decided to leave because I felt that the company was going in a direction that was different from my philosophy as a developer. Without that trust, I could not continue to work there."
Previously, he said on his YouTube channel that he left the company to "follow my New Year as a game creator and choose the path that I think is right." This was the first time he said outright that he didn't like the direction Platinum was taking.
Although he did not directly describe Platinum's current development direction, he did say "I don't view games as products, but as works of art. I want to integrate artistry into games" and hopes to provide games with their own characteristics so that players can enjoy his works authentically.
However, the relationship between Hideki Kamiya and Shirogane does not seem to be very tense. He told IGN that his departure came after "many in-depth discussions" with company boss Atsushi Inaba, and that "while his beliefs differ from mine, we had a thorough discussion so we are both satisfied with the conclusion we reached."
Kamiya said he was a little surprised by the Platinum development team's reaction to his departure: "A lot of people on the team actually seemed very sad about it, which made me think deeply about it... I told them that anyone was welcome to come and have a private discussion with me at any time, and many of them did. Some of them sat with me for two or three hours, some cried, and some thought my decision to leave was irresponsible."
But he has no regrets about leaving, saying: "I think it was the right decision, and it was a decision I made out of respect for my position as a developer. However, it makes me sad to think that I can no longer work with my colleagues on the team. I'm sorry for that."