Hideki Kamiya returns to Capcom with new Clovers studio, working on Okami sequel

Hideki Kamiya has returned to Capcom at the head of a new studio, Clovers.

The veteran developer has taken on the role of studio head and chief game designer, and is leading work on the company's debut project: a sequel to 2006 cult hit Okami, for which Kamiya was the game director.

The studio emerged from stealth as the Okami sequel was announced at last night's The Game Awards. Other members of the original development team are also involved.

According to the game's website, Clovers is working with two other studios on the project: M-Two, which has previously worked Okami HD and the remakes of Resident Evil 3 and 4, and Machine Head Works, which also appears to be a new studio given that its website only went live two days ago.

The announcement of Clovers suggests that, while it will have teams in Osaka and Tokyo, the studio will be formed of "a core group of elites who create and develop the 'core' of games" – hence the need for co-development partners.

The intent behind the name for Kamiya's new studio is clear; the original Okami's developer was the Capcom-owned Clover Studio, which also developed God Hand and the Viewtiful Joe games.

Kamiya joined Clover in 2004, but it was closed at the end of 2006 – six months after Okami launched.

Shortly after, Kamiya and fellow Clover developers Atsushi Inaba and Shinji Mikami then founded PlatinumGames with Tastuya Minami. The Okami director worked there for 17 years, before announcing his departure in September 2023.

"Due to various reasons, I left a large group and became independent, and for a while I searched for a place where I could work on game development in accordance with my creative beliefs," Kamiya wrote on the studio's website. "Thanks to the support of encouraging friends who share the same beliefs, I was able to find a place where I could be proud to create a game that I could share with everyone.

"We may be small in size, but our souls are big and powerful. As a game studio, we will continue to work with the same convictions we had when I first entered the game industry, to bring happiness to your gaming life."