Terujuki Toriyama has been part of Sony's Japan Studio for years, having served as a producer on games like Bloodborne and Soul Sacrifice, and most recently, the Demon's Souls remake. However, Toriyama has announced that he will be leaving Sony's Japan Studio come the end of December, with plans to start a new game company of his own that will make new game IPS.
Toriyama announced his departure in a tweet posted on Christmas Eve. Toriyama doesn't give any reason as to why he is leaving Japan Studio, but made it a point to thank fans that have supported his work so far. He ended his tweet by asking for fans' continued support in his efforts to start a new game company and develop new IPs. One has to imagine that the new IPs Toriyama develops will be similar to the game he's worked on in the past, though details like that have not been revealed at the time of this writing.
Toriyama is just the latest departure from Japan Studio, with other talent having also left recently. Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, who worked on the Gravity Rush franchise and other projects at Sony's Japan Studio, also recently left to form his own company. But while Toriyama's upcoming projects remain a mystery, fans know a lot more about what they can expect from Toyama's new company and gaming projects.
Toyama's new company is called Bokeh Game Studio, which is comprised of other developers that left Sony's Japan Studio. Bokeh Game Studio is working on a horror game that Toyama hinted would please fans of his previous work, indicating that it will be something like Silent Hill or Siren. Toyama has also said that Bokeh Game Studio's horror game will launch at some point in 2023, so fans will likely have to wait a few more years to see something more substantial from the project.
Meanwhile, these high profile departures have helped fuel speculation that Sony is starting to neglect its Japanese gaming presence. Sony has pushed back against these claims, but it's still a bit strange to see such high profile talent leave its Japan Studio within the last couple of months.
2020 was a busy year for Japan Studio. It helped develop the Demon's Souls remake for PS5, along with Patapon 2 Remastered for the PS4. Japan Studio division ASOBI Team also released a new product in 2020 as well in the form of Astro's Playroom, the critically-acclaimed PS5 pack-in title. It remains to be seen what's next from the studio, but rumors point to Japan Studio's next title being a Silent Hill PS5 exclusive game. Whether or not Toriyama was involved in that project, or if that project even exists, is unclear.