Platinum Games is most known for Bayonetta, its stylish hack ‘n’ slash flagship series. Even so, the original Bayonetta was a pretty niche release, which made it difficult for Platinum to find funding for Bayonetta 2. Nintendo then stepped in, securing the release as a company exclusive, and it’s now pulled the same trick again by funding Bayonetta 3 for the Switch.
Speaking more about this, Hideki Kamiya posted a long statement on Twitter describing the behind the scenes development process of the series, ending with Bayonetta 3. It sounds like the upcoming release nearly didn’t get made, but we’ll almost certainly be glad it did when it comes out later this year. Here’s what was said:
I’ve got something I want to tell you all. It’s about Bayonetta 3. We are a developer that creates games by signing contracts with publishers and receiving funds from them in order to cover development costs. For Bayonetta 1, we signed a contract with Sega and received funds from them, then we proposed a design for the game and entered production. All of the rights belong to Sega. At the time, our company had only just been established, and we weren’t properly equipped for multiplatform development, so after discussing with Sega, we decided to develop the game exclusively for Xbox 360. However, after that, one of Sega’s trading partners ended up making a port for PS3, at Sega’s behest. More recently, they also decided that a Steam version should be developed, which was released last year. Sega owns the rights to all of these versions.
When we started making Bayonetta 2, we initially received funds from Sega to develop the game for multiple platforms, but the project was halted due to circumstances at Sega. Nintendo then stepped in to continue funding the game, allowing us to finish it. As such, the rights belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided the game should be made for Wii U. Nintendo was also kind enough to fund a port of Bayo 1 for Wii U, and they even allowed us to use the Japanese voice track we created for the Wii U version in the PC version of Bayo 1 as well. I am extremely thankful to Nintendo for funding the game, and to Sega for allowing them to use the Bayonetta IP.
As for Bayonetta 3, it was decided from the start that the game was going to be developed using Nintendo’s funding. Without their help, we would not have been able to kick off this project. All of the rights still belong to Sega and Nintendo. The rights owners decided that the game should be made for Switch. Game development is a business. Each company has its own circumstances and strategies. Sometimes this means games get made, sometimes it means they get cancelled. But I believe that every single person involved is dedicated to delivering the best possible experience. I know that, to me at least, that’s one of the biggest goals when I set to work. I cannot express how happy I am that we get to make Bayonetta 3, and we intend to do everything within our power to make it as good as it can be. That’s all we can do, and we consider it our greatest mission. It took a while for production of Bayonetta 3 to be okayed, but now that it has kicked off, I hope it will turn into a wonderful encounter for all of you.
What do you think? Will you be picking up Bayonetta 3? What did you think of Bayonetta 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
