Astral Chain director and NieR: Automata designer Takahisa Taura appears to have left PlatinumGames, according to an update to his Facebook page. Instead of PlatinumGames, his Facebook page now references “Eel Game Studio.”
It’s unclear whether Taura founded the new studio after leaving PlatinumGames or went freelance. The company is based in Tokyo instead of Osaka, where PlatinumGames is primarily based out of.
In December 2024, users discovered that Kenji Saito (Metal Gear Rising’s director), Takahisa Taura (Astral Chain’s director), Masaki Yamanaka (Anarchy Reigns’ director) and Abebe Tinari (Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon’s director) may have left the company. On their social media accounts, they have removed any mention of being part of PlatinumGames’ staff.
Some users have speculated that Takahisa Taura in particular may have left for Nintendo’s EPD team, due to his work in Astral Chain, and since Nintendo has full ownership of the IP, he might be the one that could direct a sequel title, which has been highly requested by fans. Another user suggests that since Taura is credited for his work in NieR: Automata and Final Fantasy XVI, that he might have also joined Square Enix.
As for Abebe Tinari however, he made a post on Bluesky with a video of him changing his profile to say “director based in Helsinki (the capital of Finland)”, instead of Osaka, which is where PlatinumGames’ headquarters are.
Despite these reported departures, PlatinumGames plans to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Bayonetta. In addition, the company is developing Ninja Gaiden 4 in collaboration with Koei Tecmo and Team NINJA.
