For the better part of this month, PlatinumGames has teased four big announcements on its website. Most assumed the team had four new games to show. Well, that theory can now be tossed aside. While the first two unveilings did concern games, the third reveal instead centers on a new Tokyo-based studio. Simply called PlatinumGames Tokyo, this newly formed team will soon begin work on “Console live ops game development,” or, as we know it, live service games.
In a post on the company’s website, President and CEO Kenichi Sato revealed PlatinumGames Tokyo will open in April, becoming Platinum’s first development hub outside of its main office in Osaka. This new step was especially made possible by Platinum’s entering into a “capital alliance with Tencent Holdings” back in December of last year.
Studio head and board member Atsushi Inaba, who hinted at PlatinumGames Tokyo in a recent interview, drafted a statement of his own, notably explaining what the new team’s first project will entail. As noted above, the studio will focus on a different type of experience for Platinum, “console live ops game development.” According to Inaba, the Tokyo office is on board to “play a major role as we expand into live ops game development.”
For now, information about the live service project remains under wraps. However, PlatinumGames Tokyo is already being established with a pretty impressive team of developers. This much seems evident in an “interview” conducted on the website, featuring members of the currently established team as the subjects. For example, the Tokyo studio’s director, Motoi Fujita, speaks about wanting to “create a team of varying backgrounds and experience who can come together to create something one of a kind.”
This week probably couldn’t get any better for PlatinumGames. Yesterday, the growing company announced an original IP, codenamed Project G.G., which will launch across all currently available platforms. In addition, The Wonderful 101: Remastered received a May 2020 release date.
[Source: PlatinumGames]
