PlatinumGames

PlatinumGames is a Japanese video game development studio based in Osaka, which has made a name for itself primarily through its fast-paced and sophisticated action games. The studio was founded in 2007 through the merger of Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc., and its founders and key figures included veterans of the Japanese games industry with links to companies such as Capcom and Clover Studio.

PlatinumGames has carried on the style of games that was characteristic of the former Clover Studio. It places an emphasis on precise controls, fast-paced combat, attack combinations, memorable bosses and gameplay systems that reward the player’s gradual improvement.

One of the studio’s most famous franchises is Bayonetta. The heroine uses firearms, magical abilities and swift attacks against both angelic and demonic foes. A defining feature is Witch Time, which, when a dodge is timed correctly, slows down the surrounding world and allows the player to launch a counter-attack.

The first Bayonetta was developed under the leadership of Hideki Kamiya, also known for games such as Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Ōkami. The series later continued with further instalments and became one of PlatinumGames’ best-known franchises.

Another notable project is Vanquish, a third-person sci-fi shooter developed under the leadership of Shinji Mikami. The game combines shooting with extremely fast movement using the futuristic ARS suit and the ability to slow down time.

PlatinumGames is also behind Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, an action spin-off of the Metal Gear series centred on the cyborg Raiden. The game features fast-paced sword combat and the Blade Mode system, which allows players to precisely slice through enemies and certain objects in the environment.

The studio achieved great success in collaboration with Square Enix on NieR: Automata. This action RPG, created in collaboration with director Yoko Taro, follows the androids 2B, 9S and A2 in a war against machines on a desolate Earth.

NieR: Automata combines PlatinumGames’ signature fast-paced combat with RPG elements, more open-world locations and a compelling story. The game has become one of the studio’s most commercially successful titles.

The portfolio also includes The Wonderful 101, an unusual action game in which the player controls a group of superheroes capable of joining forces to create enormous weapons.

The studio also developed Astral Chain for the Nintendo Switch. In this game, players control a special police officer linked to a being called a Legion. Combat is based on simultaneously controlling the main character and their Legion.

PlatinumGames has also worked on a number of licensed titles. These include Transformers: Devastation, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan and The Legend of Korra.

Other projects from the studio include, for example, MadWorld, Anarchy Reigns, Star Fox Zero and Babylon’s Fall. The individual games vary in genre and success, but most of the studio’s work features a characteristic emphasis on action-packed combat.

PlatinumGames ranks among the most prominent Japanese studios specialising in fast-paced and technically sophisticated action games, thanks to titles such as Bayonetta, Vanquish, NieR: Automata, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Astral Chain and The Wonderful 101.