Okami will return, says game developer who loves to troll

Is Clover Studio’s Okami getting a sequel? If you believe game director Hideki Kamiya — now with PlatinumGames — the answer is yes. But you should also be skeptical.

On Oct. 18, Okami artist and former Ghostwire Tokyo creative director Ikumi Nakamura posted a video to Twitter of Kamiya saying, with a sly smile, that “Okami is going to be back.” Nakamura looks surprised — as surprised as we are — and asks, “Really?” before walking out of view. Kamiya, clearly teasing us all, gives the thumbs up and simply says, “Really.”

“Okami is going to be back,” Nakamura tweeted. “We want to make Okami sequel and fans are looking forward to it too. You guys want to see Kamiya’s Okami again, right, everyone? I want to work on it too!”

Of course, you can’t believe everything Kamiya says — he’s known for trolling fans on Twitter. Back in 2015, for instance, he told players that asked about Scalebound screenshots that they were coming next week. When they asked again, it was next week. And next week. His Twitter, too, has rules where he states that his “block button is bigger than ever.”

Kamiya continued to fuel the hype by retweeting Nakamura’s video with the caption, “Let’s do it, Capcom ;).” Capcom told Polygon it’s made “no announcements” — so it’s hard to say for certain what these tweets mean. After all, Nakamura is looking for a new gig after leaving Ghostwire Tokyto studio Tango Gameworks. (Nakamura previously worked with Kamiya at PlatinumGames as a concept artist for Bayonetta.) Over the past few months, Nakamura’s been visiting game studios and posting about her trip on Twitter.

Okami was released in 2006 on PlayStation 2. It’s beloved by its fans for its unique art style and Japanese folklore-inspired story. It’s gotten a couple HD remasters over the years, the last of which was released in 2017. Okami HD was added to the Nintendo Switch eShop in August 2018.

Update: Just before 2 p.m. EDT, Kamiya tweeted a reference to the clip. “Okami will be back,” he wrote. “... Someday ... I believe.”