Okami 2 is not being made due to requests from social networks - and this is a good sign

Hideki Kamiya actively communicates with players on social networks, but does not intend to build a sequel to Okami around the most popular requests.In an interview with VGC, CLOVERS management spoke about how development is going and what freedom the team received from Capcom.

Kamiya isn't building a game based on a wish list

Kamiya says he never decided to make a game or bring back a character just because it was often requested on social media.The team makes such decisions itself, based on what suits a particular game.

This is an important approach for Okami 2.Player feedback can help spot issues with interface, pacing, and usability, but a popular request doesn't have to become part of the game.The first Okami was remembered precisely for its own ideas and unusual solutions.

CLOVERS has grown to over 70 employees

Within two years, CLOVERS staff exceeded 70 people in Osaka and Tokyo.In April, the studio also assembled its own sound team of three composers and two sound designers.

Among them are Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who worked on the original Okami, as well as specialists who collaborated with Kamiya on Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101. For Okami, this is especially important: the music and brush sounds have always been part of the atmosphere, and not just in the background.

Capcom doesn't interfere in every step

According to CLOVERS executives, Capcom doesn't require every new mechanic to be shown early on.The team can first bring the idea to a working state and only then discuss it with the publisher.

This is useful for games with unusual mechanics.An early prototype may look unconvincing until the team fine-tunes the controls, the camera, and how the world reacts.But freedom does not remove responsibility: if the idea does not work, the studio itself will be responsible for it.

Kamiya believes it is more important to maintain access to games

In the same interview, Kamiya also spoke about the future of physical publishing.For him, what is more important is not the medium itself, but the ability to run games years later.

Okami itself has survived several generations thanks to re-releases.The disc can be a valuable item for a collection, but for preserving the game, compatibility with new hardware and the ability to buy or play it again after many years are more important.

Scalebound remains Kamiya's wish for now

Kamiya again said that he would like to return to the canceled Scalebound someday and is serious about it.But this is not an announcement: CLOVERS did not announce a new Scalebound and is now working on a sequel to Okami.

Okami 2 itself has been shown too little so far to confidently judge the combat, the world, or the pacing.But it is already clear that a grown team with familiar specialists is working on the sequel, and Capcom is giving it space for its own decisions.This is a good start for a game like this.

What is more important for the new Okami: keeping the ideas of the original or noticeably changing the formula?

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