Japanese developer PlatinumGames, the studio responsible for publishing games such as Bayonetta and Nier: Automata, has made a big change in its leadership as president and CEO Kenichi Satao confirmed he stepped down from both roles at the end of December 2021.
Following Sato’s decision, Platinum’s former vice president and head of development Atsushi Inaba succeeded him in both positions. Sato took the role of CEO and president in April 2016 and has been at the helm of Platinum’s largest period of growth during his more than five years as CEO, overseeing the release of seven games and continued development on several others. Additionally, under Sato, Platinum also explored ways to continue as an elite independent publisher by securing capital investment from Tencent and expanding with a new development studio in Tokyo.
Now that Platinum is in a place where it can work on its own IP and still “bring smiles to people around the world,” Sato is stepping down to allow for a new direction led by Inaba that will accelerate and advance Platinum toward the creation of a “new play” style.
And although he is stepping down from his leadership role, Sato will remain close to Platinum in an advisory role as he continues to support the company in its development and approach to new challenges.
