The director behind the very first Resident Evil is hiring for his new studio Unbound Games, who are working on an original IP for consoles and PC.
Shinji Mikami is, or at least was, one of the biggest names in the Japanese games industry and it seems like he’s gearing up for a new title at a brand new studio.
The developer is best known for his time at Capcom, as director on 1996’s Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, and Resident Evil 4. He later founded the studio Tango Gameworks in 2010, where he helmed titles like 2014’s The Evil Within and produced Hi-Fi Rush.
Mikami left the studio in 2023 and, since then, there’s been some mystery around his next steps. However, a website for his new studio, Unbound Games, along with job listings, has provided some details on what he’s working on next.
As outlined in the studio’s recruitment overview, Unbound Games is described as a ‘fully independent company’ which creates ‘original AAA titles’. It was established in May 2023, with Mikami serving as a representative director.
‘We develop a wide range of games, from original high-end consumer games to large scale AAA titles and challenging smaller titles, for gamers from Japan and around the world,’ a recruitment post reads (via machine translation).
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Based on the various job listings, Unbound Games is developing a ‘high-end’ title in Unreal Engine 5 for PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC.
As of April 2025, there are 53 employees at the studio, including people who worked on Silent Hill, Shadow Of The Colossus, Sonic The Hedgehog, Ōkami, and Dead Rising.
One of the better known developers at the studio is Masato Kimura, who previously worked with Mikami on Hi-Fi Rush, Devil May Cry, and served as a producer on Ghostwire: Tokyo.
In an interview on the website, Kimura was asked about Unbound’s debut game. ‘I can’t give away any details yet, but it’s a AAA title for high-end consumers. However, to be honest, it would be difficult to do the same kind of work in Japan as overseas AAA titles, which require hundreds of billions of yen and hundreds of people working for five to seven years to create.
‘So, we’re aiming for AAA quality and AA content, which is why we’re creating a title that offers a rich gaming experience and allows you to be completely immersed in its world.’
It’s unclear whether Mikami is directing this project, but back in 2020, he said he wanted to direct one more video game before he retires. In recent years he’s seemed keen to get away from his reputation for mostly making horror games, but whether that’s still how he feels is unknown.
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