Atsushi Inaba, a producer at Platinum Games, denied today that his studio is working on the next big Metal Gear, despite some whispers to the contrary.
"I am aware of the rumor that says [Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator Hideki] Kamiya is working on Rising," he told Kotaku through a translator during an interview at E3 in Los Angeles. "It's not true." Asked if it was correct, then, that Platinum is not working on the game at all, he replied: "Yes."
The rumors of Platinum lending its action-game expertise on the action-based Metal Gears Solid: Rising started swirling through Internet message boards last month and was even mentioned in a Tweet from Metal Gear boss Hideo Kojima to Kamiya. Kojima's Tweet had said the rumor "would be nice if it were true." The combination of Platinum and Rising seemed possible and even promising given the emphasis in Rising's trailers on the type of stylish martial arts action that's been a hallmark in Kamiya's games. Rising, featured at last year's E3, wasn't at this year's show. The game is scheduled for a 2012 release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Earlier this week, we'd heard from a games industry source that the game was being made by Platinum. Inaba, who is in a good position to know, for better or worse, has shot that down.