Summary
The director ofBayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demonhas exited PlatinumGames to joinReturnaldeveloper Housemarque. This update comes amid a purportedly tumultuous time for PlatinumGames, and the departure of the lead creative behindBayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demonlends further credence to the uncertainty around the studio’s current direction.
Back in September 2023, PlatinumGames' most prominent developer, Hideki Kamiya, announced his departure from the Osaka-based studio. To explain his decision, the famedBayonettacreator cited the dissonance between the direction PlatinumGames was heading in compared to his own inclinations as a game developer. One year later, Kamiya was surprisingly announced to be leading development onCapcom’sOkamisequel at The Game Awards 2024, complete with a revived Clover Studio. However, this long-awaited reveal gave rise to concerns about the future of PlatinumGames.
Shortly after theOkamisequel announcement, some ofPlatinumGames' top developers were rumored to have left the studioas they’d wiped all mentions of it from their social media profiles. One of these developers was Abebe Tinari, the director of 2023’sBayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, who revealed that he’d left Japan and moved to Helsinki, Finland.Tinari’s LinkedIn profilehas now spilled the beans on his decision to move to Helsinki, as theformer PlatinumGames developer has taken up a lead game designer role at Housemarque.
Bayonetta Origins Director Now Working on Housemarque’s New IP
Housemarque’s last release was its critically-acclaimed roguelike shooterReturnalin May 2021, following which the Helsinki-based studio was acquired by PlayStation. Ever since then,Housemarque has been chipping away on a new IP, and it seems all too likely that Tinari will be lending his talents to the same. It’s yet to be determined when Housemarque plans to reveal its next game, but many fans don’t expect an announcement until at least 2026.
As for PlatinumGames, it’s too soon to ascertain how much of an impact the recent high-profile developer exits will have on the studio’s future projects. Recently, PlatinumGames announced ayear-long celebration forBayonetta’s 15th anniversary, which might include the announcement of a new entry in the series as well. Other than a potential newBayonettagame, PlatinumGames has also been working on a new IP dubbedProject GGsince 2020. However,Project GGwas being helmed by Hideki Kamiya, and now that he’s no longer at PlatinumGames, there’s no telling how much the game’s development may have slowed down.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
WHERE TO PLAY
Once upon a time, there was a young witch named Cereza… Long before this trainee of the dark arts would come to be called Bayonetta, she took a fateful journey into the forbidden Avalon Forest. Alongside her was Cheshire, her very first demon, possessing Cereza’s stuffed toy. Play as both Cereza and Cheshire and search through the treacherous forest to look for the power to save Cereza’s mother.
