We haven’t learned much about why Hideki Kamiya left PlatinumGames, the studio he co-founded back in 2007 – until now.
Kamiya’s departure from the company seemed amicable at the time, and through the previous few months with his new YouTube channel. The veteran developer has gone on the record now to reveal he lost confidence in the company he helped build.
“My work with PlatinumGames was based on a relationship of trust,” Kamiya said to IGN. “I decided to leave because I felt that the direction the company was heading in was different from my beliefs as a developer. Without that element of trust, I couldn’t continue working there.”
Previously, Kamiya said on his YouTube channel that he left the developer to pursue his own beliefs and future projects, hinting that he didn’t like where the company was heading. The now-freelance developer went into more detail on the difference of beliefs.
“I don’t think of games as products, but rather as works of art,” Kamiya said. “I want to put my artistry into games and deliver games that could only be made by Hideki Kamiya, so that players can enjoy Hideki Kamiya games exactly as they are. I decided to leave the company and forge my own path, to continue making games that reflect the developers who made them.”
Despite the gap in beliefs, Kamiya seems to still be on good terms with his former company, at least with its main staff. He decided to leave after “many deep discussions” with company CEO Atsushi Inaba, and said though they have opposing beliefs, they “talked it out thoroughly, so we were both satisfied with the conclusion we reached.”
News of Kamiya’s departure was met by his coworkers with a mix of confusion and sadness.
“The fact that many of the team seemed so sad about it made me think deeply about this point,” Kamiya said. “I told them that anyone was welcome to come to talk with me privately at any time, and many of them did. Some of them sat and talked with me for two or three hours, some cried, and some others thought my decision to leave was irresponsible.”
Despite making such a departure once again from a company he helped succeed, Kamiya seems to have no regrets on the decision.
“I think this was the right decision, and it was a decision I made out of respect for my own stance as a developer,” Kamiya said. “However, it makes me sad to think that I can’t work with the staff on my team anymore. I feel sorry about that.”
