Atsushi Inaba Appointed As The New CEO of PlatinumGames

Positional changes are very common in corporate circles. Big companies in every field change their pecking order frequently and the gaming industry is no exception. There are many outgoings and promotions every year in the office. One similar change has just taken place at PlatinumGames.

PlatinumGames have appointed Atsushi Inaba as their new CEO. The Japanese producer will become the brand new Chief Executive Officer of the company. This change comes after Kenichi Sato stepped down as the President and CEO of PlatinumGames at the end of December 2021. Sato served as the CEO and President for 5 years and did a remarkable job. He will retain an advisory seat on the board and guide others. The former Vice President is now the CEO of the company. Inaba will remain the PlatinumGames Studio Head and work as the CEO.

Inaba also wrote a letter to the fans. He said that creating innovative forms of play will not change and this expression of liberty and fun will remain enjoyable for the players. Inaba also told that he approaches this “fun” with the perfect balance of play and professionalism.

Inaba mentioned his goal of connecting people with different languages and different backgrounds through a controller. He hoped to provide more enjoyable games for the users moving forward. The letter was a really nice touch by the new CEO because it showed his ambition and care for the player.

Create, and deliver.

Creating innovative forms of play.

That is the belief PlatinumGames was founded on.

That is something that will never change.

Games come in all different styles for all different kinds of people. At their nature, they are a true expression of liberty: thoughts come together freely to create an idea, to expand upon it, and then, to actually play it. The real enjoyment from games comes from the freedom given to both the creator and user—which is why I believe them to be such an amazing form of entertainment.

Approaching “fun” with complete sincerity has always been important to me. I believe every one of our staff take pride that they are entertainers, always attempting the perfect balance between play and professionalism.

Creating a new, enjoyable game starts with the creator being able to enjoy the game themselves. The creator then has to continually build on their idea until they have something that communicates that sense of fun to anyone who experiences it—that consideration of the user makes all the difference.

Our overarching goal for entering self-publishing has been unchanged since its conception: to invent something new and share it with the rest of the world—showing our sincerity towards creation every step of the way.

People speaking different languages, from different backgrounds, all brought together through a controller. Made to smile by a new type of game.

It connects us, and sets us free.

It’s a job that I’m extremely proud of.

As I move forward towards the new challenges of the future, I hope to provide more and more experiences for all our users to enjoy.

CEO / Studio Head
Atsushi Inaba

This isn’t Inaba‘s first time as a studio’s CEO. He was the CEO of the Capcom branch called Clover Studio. So, he has experience in this position. The new CEO has done work on some great games throughout his career. Some of these games are NieR: Automata, God Hand, Bayonetta, and many more. He also did some technical work in his early days and the best example of this is his work on Devil May Cry. So it’s safe to say that his CV proves his worth for the CEO position.

Someone tenured like Sato stepping down is obviously a huge shake-up for the company. But, Inaba being his successor will make this transition very smooth. We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter in the comments below.