PlatinumGames’ co-founder can’t work for a year after leaving the studio

A couple weeks ago, we reported that the co-founder of PlatinumGames – Hideki Kamiya – announced his departure from the studio after more than 15 years to the surprise of many. Now, the Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 2 and Bayonetta director has spoken a bit more on the situation, revealing that he isn’t allowed to work in the video games industry for the next year due to non-compete clauses.

In the latest episode of his YouTube series ‘Let’s Ask Kamiya’ the PlatinumGames co-founder spoke on a number of topics, primarily his departure from the studio. Kamiya discussed his reasons for leaving and what he’s been doing since. Interestingly, the PlatinumGames co-founder then revealed that due to legalities, he isn’t allowed to work in the industry for the next year, saying:

“Am I even allowed to say this out loud? I can’t work for the same industry for a year. Due to reasons. So it’ll be a while until I bring good news to you all. It’ll take time, but I’ll make it happen.”

When asked about his plans for the next year during this interim period, Kamiya joked “Plans? Well, I think I’m going to…hmm…go home and do some cooking? I did some cooking, you know when I lived alone in college. But, once I started to work, it’s not the healthiest – eating out, convenience stores and Uber, etc. Now that I have unlimited time I decided to do some cooking, and made curry the other day. I had cravings for homemade curry. But you can’t eat homemade curry unless it’s homemade, so I gave it a try. I made Java curry.”

While Kamiya didn’t go into details as to why he can’t work in the industry for the next year, it is most likely due to non-compete clauses which some companies include in their contracts. One developer who recently concluded his own period of non-competition is Shinji Mikami – the founder of Tango Gameworks. While it is unfortunate to see that Hideki Kamiya won’t be able to work on games for quite some time, hopefully the creator takes time to have a well-earned rest.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of non-compete clauses? What would you like to see Kamiya work on when the period ends? Let us know down below.

Become a Patron!