Takahisa Taura, best known as the director of Astral Chain and lead designer on NieR: Automata, has officially left PlatinumGames and formed a new development company, Eel Game Studio. The news was first confirmed in an exclusive interview with Famitsu, and has since been corroborated through official filings in Japan.
Taura’s departure marks a major shift for PlatinumGames, a studio known for its signature high-octane action titles. After spending nearly 14 years at the company, Taura’s exit adds to a growing list of high-profile departures, including co-founder Hideki Kamiya, who also recently left to start his own venture.
According to the Famitsu interview, Taura left PlatinumGames in early 2024 but waited until now to formally announce the move as Eel Game Studio began establishing its development pipeline. The new studio is headquartered in Tokyo and is already in pre-production on its first original title, though no specifics have been revealed.
“I wanted to challenge myself in new ways and build something from the ground up,” Taura said. “With Eel Game Studio, we’re focusing on creating games that blend deep mechanics with powerful storytelling—something I’ve always been passionate about.”
Taura rose to prominence following his work on NieR: Automata, where he played a pivotal role in refining the game’s acclaimed combat system. He later took the director’s chair for Astral Chain, a Nintendo Switch exclusive released in 2019 that received critical acclaim for its unique dual-character combat system and futuristic setting. Though the IP is co-owned by Nintendo, PlatinumGames, and Taura himself, it remains unclear whether Eel Game Studio will have any involvement in future entries.
Despite his close ties to Platinum’s legacy titles, sources tell Insider Gaming that Taura has no plans to revisit old franchises under his new studio. Instead, Eel Game Studio is positioning itself as a mid-sized, independent company aiming to deliver “ambitious, premium titles” without being locked into traditional publisher models.
While no publishing partners have been announced, industry insiders suggest Eel Game Studio is already in talks with several potential backers, including both Japanese and Western publishers. The studio is also said to be actively recruiting staff across multiple disciplines, with job listings recently posted for engineers, artists, and gameplay designers.
The timing of Taura’s announcement comes amid a broader trend of Japanese developers breaking away from legacy studios to establish new, creatively independent ventures. In the past two years alone, former Capcom, Square Enix, and Konami talent have started their own projects, signalling a possible shift in Japan’s development culture toward smaller, auteur-driven studios.
As for what’s next, Taura remains tight-lipped—but expectations are high.
“I can’t share details just yet,” he said. “But fans of my past work will find a lot to be excited about.”
1-up Games will continue to follow the story as more details emerge about Eel Game Studio’s first project and the potential industry shakeup it could bring.
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