PlatinumGames CEO Kenichi Sato stepped down as president according to an official announcement from the company that made Bayonetta, Wonderful 101, and Vanquish.

Taking over as the new CEO is longtime director/producer Atsushi Inaba, who will also retain his second title as PlatinumGames studio head. Kenichi Sato will still be on the PlatinumGames board as an advisor. In addition, Inaba will be talking about the future of the company and also about Sol Cresta alongside chief game designer/Twitter banhammer guy Hideki Kamiya in an upcoming Asia Pacific Game Summit event on 21st January.

Here’s the full letter from the official announcement:

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 takes 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