In a development that shouldn’t prove terribly shocking to anyone following the game, Kickstarter darling, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has had its planned Wii U edition cancelled today. Instead, the game will now release for Nintendo Switch in its place.
This follows suit with fellow high-profile Kickstarter-funded game project, the soon-releasing Yooka-Laylee from Playtonic Games, which also axed its planned Wii U port late in development, and later replaced it with a Nintendo Switch build. A few other upcoming high-profile indie games have also discarded their planned Wii U editions after they were announced, in favour of Nintendo Switch versions to come, including Stardew Valley, Rive and The Next Penelope.
Bloodstained’s director, Koji Igarashi, who is designing the game as a spiritual successor to his Castlevania titles made during his time with major Japanese publisher, Konami, commented on the cancellation of the Wii U build on the game’s Kickstarter page, citing that circumstances have changed regarding the Wii U’s popularity. Since technical support and resources for Wii U development have now virtually ceased being available, the Wii U version of Bloodstained got the axe.
Fortunately, due to its huge early sales and popularity, it’s doubtful that gamers will be unhappy with a Nintendo Switch version of Bloodstained replacing the scrapped Wii U build, which was given the green light after the Kickstarter reached a stretch goal of $3 million in funding back in 2015. If Kickstarter backers requested a Wii U copy of the game as a funding reward, then, as with Yooka-Laylee before it, these backers have the option of either seeking a full refund for their Kickstarter pledge, upgrading to the Nintendo Switch version, or requesting a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One copy instead.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is currently planned for release in 2018, to be developed by Inti Creates and Artplay, with 505 Games as publisher. The only exception in the development plans is the PlayStation Vita edition that is still currently in the works, which is instead being developed by Armature Studio, and is the byproduct of another stretch goal being met during the game’s funding period.
Keep hunting Eggplante for all major news and updates on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and other major Kickstarter game projects.