Bloodborne Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa Now For Team Ninja After Departure From Japan Studio

Although Sony Interactive Entertainment shows to be an industry juggernaut comprised of a network made up of internal teams, not all divisions within remain functioning. In a surprise turn of events, Japan Studio slowly closed its doors following the release of PlayStation 5 launch title Astro’s Playroom. As more employees departed from the team, a report went out disclosing that fragments of Team Asobi remained from the events.

By April of this year, Japan Studio officially shutdown as Demon’s Souls game director Gavin Moore said his farewell from the team. It was not until this June that Sony Interactive Entertainment made a statement in welcoming Team Asobi as the newest first-party studio from the region. One of the heavy-hitting discoveries from the downfall of Japan Studio was the departure of Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa.

While his current plans for the industry has yet to be officially determined, we discovered where Yamagiwa is employed in a less conventional manner. In that, Sony Interactive Entertainment lead Shuhei Yoshida on Twitter revealed Yamagiwa now working for Team Ninja (Nioh, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin).

Yoshida revealed so through an image of himself alongside Yamagiwa and Nioh game series director Fumihiko Yasuda. He writes, “A fun evening with Team Ninja’s Yasuda-san and @giwamasa, who joined Team Ninja @TeamNINJAStudio.” Although it is not from Yamagiwa himself, the statement from the PlayStation lead is enough to validate his employment.

While Bloodborne is a cult-beloved release on PlayStation 4, there is no hope for a new release currently. Even in the era of PlayStation 5, the game still has yet to receive an enhanced version for the new system. However, industry insiders did hint at a PC port for the game in 2020, but, nothing has come to fruition on the matter yet. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you surprised with Yamagiwa now working at Team Ninja?