PlatinumGames is Developing its own Engine

Recently, revered Japanese game developer PlatinumGames received a large investment from Chinese mega-corporation Tencent to pursue self-publishing. Now the developer has announced that it will be creating its own in-house engine for the development of future projects.

A lengthy interview with some of the developers on their official website explains all of the key details, including the incentive behind the creation of the new engine. Producer Wataru Ohmori explains: “We’ve used our own in-house engine, specialized for action game development, since PlatinumGames was founded. But modern games demand a whole new level of quality, a greater variety and number of objects on-screen, and a richer amount of expressive visual power. We came to the frightening realization that if we don’t make our work more efficient, we’re simply not going to be able to keep making the games that we want to make as technology and expectations grow.”

Arguably the biggest takeaway is that this new engine (currently under the working title ‘PlatinumEngine’) will help Platinum create games “with greater ease.” Ohmori also talks about the prototyping process- where game systems and mechanics are tested - being more streamlined and efficient via this new engine. He again emphasises the purpose of the engine, stating: “The idea is for the new engine to both boost efficiency and make it easier to try new challenges in how our games are presented.”

Upcoming Platinum titles such as Bayonetta 3 and Babylon's Fall have been in development for quite a while now, so it seems unlikely that they will be taking advantage of this engine. It seems more likely that this engine will be utilised for titles that are just entering development or are in the early planning stages - such as the recently announced ‘Project G.G.’

PlatinumGames’ next release is the remaster of the 2013 title The Wonderful 101, which will release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 on PC on 19th May in North America, 22nd May in the UK and Europe, and 11th June in Japan.