Gravity Rush and Siren creator Keiichiro Toyama has left Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan to establish his own studio.
Bokeh Game Studio was set up on August 13th, but the announcement was made via Twitter and a YouTube video yesterday. Toyama, who joined Sony in 1999, said that he wants to pursue his own ambitions. Prior to joining Sony, he created the Silent Hill franchise for Konami, which he joined in 1994 as a graphic artist.
In a video message, Toyama said:
Looking back at my inner self, nothing has really changed at all since day one when I set foot into this industry. Firstly I want players to enjoy games built from ideas with originality, and secondly I want to enjoy making those games—this is all there was to it. Thankfully it was possible for myself and team to develop and release many games. However the gaming industry has rapidly grown globally and is still drastically changing all the time. Day by day, living in these times, I have felt the need for a substantial change to pursue my own ambitions. This is why I have decided to become independent.
Japan Studio’s Kazunobu Sato and Junya Okura also joined Toyama. “Thankfully, I am blessed with a team of colleagues who share the same ambitions as myself, which is why I am able to start this new chapter with a new game studio where we can form our original ideas,” Toyama added.
The team is already hard at work on its first project.
