director
Hideki Kamiya
神谷英樹
Every game I make needs a mechanic that belongs to it alone — combo action for Devil May Cry, VFX powers for Viewtiful Joe, the Celestial Brush for Okami, Witch Time for Bayonetta. I've never stolen someone else's idea.
About
Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese game director known for Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and Bayonetta. He joined Capcom in 1994 as a new graduate — he has said he also held a job offer from Namco at the time — starting as a planner on the original Resident Evil before debuting as director on Resident Evil 2 at age 26. He went on to co-found Clover Studio and, after Capcom dissolved it, PlatinumGames. He describes every game he has directed as existing inside one shared universe, which he calls the 'Kamiya-verse.'
History
In his own words, on his YouTube channel: "I started my career at a company called Capcom... I started out as a planner on Resident Evil, and debuted as a game director on Resident Evil 2. Then I directed Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe... and joined a company called Clover Studio, and [made] Okami. Then [I] joined PlatinumGames, where I directed Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101..." Kamiya has said that as a new graduate in 1994 he applied to both Capcom and Namco, and received a job offer from Namco as well — a detail he still brings up, half-joking, wondering whether the offer might still be valid. Devil May Cry, released in 2001, was the first original IP he directed; he has described its 'pillar' as combo action performed with realistic character movement in 3D space — the first of a pattern he repeated on every later project, each one built around a single mechanic that belonged to it alone: VFX Power on Viewtiful Joe, the Celestial Brush on Okami, Witch Time on Bayonetta.
Kamiya speaks about his games less like a historian and more like someone still standing inside them. Of Devil May Cry: "Back around 2000, I got dumped big time by the girl I was dating, and I was super depressed. So Devil May Cry is burned into my heart with that memory." Of Dante's design: "Dante from Devil May Cry, which I directed, was created based on the image of Cobra [the manga hero] that I had stuck in my head for years." On Okami, he credits lead planner Hiroshi Shibata with turning his scattered ideas into a finished design — "I would throw out random ideas, unable to organize them, and Shibata-san would logically structure everything" — and animator Masato Kimura with the game's closing shot of Amaterasu running into the distance. He has also said, of his own commercial instincts, that he has 'no clue what will sell': The Wonderful 101, in his telling, was played by 'barely 16 people around the world,' and Viewtiful Joe by 'probably only around 6.' He left PlatinumGames bound by a one-year non-compete clause, and has said plainly that he left to follow his own beliefs as a creator and has no plan to retire.
In Hideki's Own Words
Real interview footage, not paraphrase. Each line links back to the exact moment in the video so you can hear it for yourself.
“But first, let me clarify one thing. From one of the responses that I gave to a previous comment, it seems like some people got the mistaken impression that I wasn't involved with Bayonetta 3, but I was indeed deeply involved.”
“From one of the responses that I gave to a previous comment, it seems like some people got the mistaken impression that I wasn't involved with Bayonetta 3, but I was indeed deeply involved. I wasn't the director on Bayonetta 3, but I was the director on Bayonetta and on Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3, I stepped back into more of a supervisory role, but I still handled things like the story and character settings to keep the Bayonetta universe consistent.”
“It's well-known that Dante from Devil May Cry, which I directed, was created based on the image of Cobra that I had stuck in my head for years. Well, Basically, Dante is known for being a character who's always in control and cracking jokes no matter what enemy he faces or situation he's in, but Cobra is the original.”
“That aired while we were developing Viewtiful Joe, I think. I happened to start watching Ryuki, and it totally hooked me.”
“I think this one’s about aspiration. Like, what kind of character or personality you wish you had.”
“Well, I do have ideas for it. I have ideas, but… well, I don’t want to just talk about it here, it's hard to express in just words.”
“Also, I always imagined the Bayonetta series would continue, and on the side, we could keep going with the spinoff “Cereza and the Lost Demon.” I wanted to continue that with Abebe Tinari.”
“And as for Singularity—yeah, I admit I didn’t get to fully flesh out his background. But, I know this sounds like an excuse, When I made Bayonetta (1), I made the last enemy, Balder, go into a long explanation at the end.”
“As for a Devil May Cry remake—of course I’d love to do that. When was that?”
“Yes, Sol Cresta. Sol Cresta was a game made of the extract of the extra thick stuff that kept simmering and stewing inside my body of what I wanted to create.”
“PlatinumGames has been exhibiting at BitSummit, an indie game festival in Japan for a long time, and I would go there every year, walk around, and see other people's work, which always motivated me. and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to make such intense games, and that desire was reflected in games like Sol Cresta.”
“Ahhhh… Do I feel pressure when creating a new game? Hmm, to be honest, I don’t really feel much pressure.”
“When it comes to the Bayonetta series... Bayonetta was an original title I directed, but when I moved on to making Bayonetta 2 and 3, there were already dedicated fans of the series, and these people have a unique set of expectations and anticipation for the series.”
“But... I'd say, I left the company because I wanted to follow my beliefs as a game creator.”
“That said, while this may not directly answer the question, let me share my thoughts on game mechanics. I often use the term “game mechanic” to mean the unique elements that define a game.”
“Now, I feel a little embarrassed mentioning my own work... The Wonderful 101 has been played by only around 16 people on this planet.”
“Kote-yan (Muneyuki Kotegawa): he’s the designer of Dante’s Ebony & Ivory, the black and white pistols. I think we’ve worked together since the first RE.”
“Kimura (Masato Kimura): he's known for creating the staff roll of Ōkami. He’s the one who made the scene of Amaterasu walking through in the end.”
“Nasu-san (Akihiko Nasu): I haven’t worked on many projects with him either. He’s an animator, and we worked together during the development of Devil May Cry.”
“On the other hand, every time I release a game, I think to myself, “This game is amazing! It’s going to sell like crazy.””
“As a creator, I think it’s best to make what you truly want. Whether it will be commercially successful or not is something for the higher-ups to worry about.”
“I'm very particular about ideas for games. That's why I'm also very particular about my title as a game designer.”
“Uh... The games that I make end up having logic, but I don't start from logic.”
“I think this person might be confused. It depends on what they mean by "worked on," but it's been more than 5 years since I've directed a game.”
Timeline & Works
Career milestones and all 2 games in the museum they worked on — in the order they happened.
- 1994
Joined Capcom
Joined Capcom as a new graduate. He has said he also held a job offer from Namco at the time.
people - 1998
Resident Evil 2 — director debut
Debuted as director on Resident Evil 2 at age 26, after starting his career as a planner on the original Resident Evil.
product - 2001
Devil May Cry
His first original IP as director. He has described the game's central mechanic as combo action performed with realistic character movement in 3D space.
product - 2001
- 2003
Viewtiful Joe
Directed Viewtiful Joe for GameCube at Clover Studio, built around VFX Power — the ability to slow, speed up, or zoom the action.
product - 2006
Okami
Directed Okami at Clover Studio, built around the Celestial Brush — drawing directly on the screen to alter the world.
product - 2006
- 2007
Clover Studio dissolved — co-founded PlatinumGames
After Capcom dissolved Clover Studio, Kamiya co-founded PlatinumGames with former Clover colleagues, where he later directed Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101.
people
Connections
- employed capcom (1994–2007)
Joined Capcom in 1994 as a new graduate; debuted as director on Resident Evil 2 and went on to direct Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe there and at subsidiary Clover Studio.
Explore the work
Each title has its own page — history, trivia, and collector's notes.
Rooms their games live in
Sources
- Hideki Kamiya Channel — "Career in the gaming industry" (Comment Reply) — accessed 2026-08-15
- Hideki Kamiya Channel — Devil May Cry remake / breakup memory (Comment Reply) — accessed 2026-08-15
- Hideki Kamiya Channel — Dante and Cobra (Comment Reply) — accessed 2026-08-15
- Hideki Kamiya Channel — Okami staff, Shibata & Kimura (Comment Reply) — accessed 2026-08-15
- Hideki Kamiya Channel — "Kamiya-verse" (Comment Reply) — accessed 2026-08-15