Ex-PlatinumGames' VP Hideki Kamiya Launches YouTube Channel, Can't Work in Games for a Year

Published:Thu, 12 Oct 2023 / Source:https://www.ign.com/articles/ex-platinumgames-vp-hideki-kamiya-launches-youtube-channel-cant-work-in-games-for-a-year

Famed video game developer and former PlatinumGames' executive vice president Hideki Kamiya has started a YouTube channel after leaving the company in September.

Kamiya so far only has one video available on Hideki Kamiya Channel that seemingly shows him leaving the PlatinumGames office before talking about future plans, why he left the studio he co-founded, and what he's been doing in the meantime (making curry and watching TV).

Kamiya also revealed he can't work in the video game industry for a year, likely due to a non-compete agreement that essentially allows PlatinumGames to be the sole beneficiary of his ideas, but Kamiya only said this is "due to reasons".

I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator.

The developer — who directed Resident Evil 2 and was chief creator of Devil May Cry while working at Capcom, before leading the likes of Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 at PlatinumGames — was vague about his decision to leave in September, saying only it came based on his own beliefs.

Though he still doesn't give an explicit reason in the video, Kamiya did share more insight. "I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator," he said. "And to choose the path I think is right and move on."

Kamiya made clear he wasn't retiring yet either, and will consider what offers come his way when he's allowed to work in the video game industry again. He joked he'll accept any offers over ¥100 million (around $670,000) a year, though does end the video by driving off "to the unemployment centre" in a supercar.

As for his YouTube channel, Kamiya said he will upload videos that are "completely education free" and have nothing to do with the video game industry, with the veteran developer seemingly ready for a break after working in games for 30 years.

PlatinumGames will go on without Kamiya, of course, though the studio's upcoming game Project G.G. was portrayed as his next pet project. Kamiya told IGN in December 2022 it was "going to be so big that you won't even be able to compare The Wonderful 101: Remastered and Sol Cresta to it".

Image Credit: Hideki Kamiya Channel on YouTube

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Source:https://www.ign.com/articles/ex-platinumgames-vp-hideki-kamiya-launches-youtube-channel-cant-work-in-games-for-a-year

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