PlatinumGames teases two new wholly-owned IPs, new title that “has never been done before”

Video Games Chronicle has published a new interview with PlatinumGames studio head Atsushi Inaba, who shared various tidbits of information regarding the studio’s future.

Here are the details:

• Bayonetta 3 will see a change in design process based on PlatinumGames’ experience on developing Bayonetta 1 and 2.
• PlatinumGames is midway through the development of an unannounced title which “has never been done before,” according to Inaba. He added, “I know a lot of people say that, but the game we’re working on truly is unlike anything else. Even for our varied history of veteran game developers, this is something that has never been designed before. So from a game design perspective, we’re very excited right now.”
• PlatinumGames is aiming to move towards self-publishing, as it will eventually have the “freedom” to own its intellectual properties and make independent decisions on future directions.
• “2019 will be an incredibly important year for us,” Inaba said. “Without speaking directly to the number of titles we may or may not announce, I can say it’s going to be a year of some major new approaches, new challenges and new methods for us. Basically, we’re building a new foundation that in later years will pay dividends. For us, new challenges are going to be very important.”
• PlatinumGames’ new approaches include a move away from relying on external publisher funding, as well as an examination of how it structures game design.
• While PlatinumGames has worked with third-party partners in the past on properties it does not own, such as Bayonetta, NieR: Automata, and the upcoming Astral Chain, it is currently working on two new intellectual properties owned entirely by the studio, neither of which have been announced.
• The creation of wholly-owned properties will not result in the end of third-party collaborations, however. “There are still going to potentially be games in which we partner with publishers to do big things with big IPs,” Inaba said. There might be some co-publishing options where we’re doing some of it and they’re doing some of it to make a larger game, and there might be situations where we’re going to be self-publishing larger games as well.”