Bloodstained Being Published By 505 Games

In a Kickstarter backer update, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night creator Koji Igarashi has announced that the game has a new publisher. 505 Games will be handling the title, mostly from a marketing standpoint.

"Although we have started this project through Kickstarter, we wanted more people to play now that we are in full production," said Igarashi in the video announcement. "However, we believe this isn't possible with our power alone. We are grateful that a publisher with a vast marketing power such as 505 Games will be working with our small production team."

Igarashi also showed off a new build of the game, talking about his feelings on the the game's current graphics and pointing out areas where he feels the team can improve.

A month ago, Iragashi and company announced that Bloodstained was being pushed back from its original March 2017 release date to the first half of 2018. The reason behind the delay was to make sure that the title was developed properly.

"I've decided to add a new development team to the main production and improve our approach so that we can keep the game fully on track for how I envision it. We're in the process of securing these new developers," Igarashi said at the time. "While the release date is not yet set in stone, we're aiming for the first half of 2018. I apologize for the wait. However, I'd like to emphasize that I made this decision to absolutely guarantee the game is done right the first time."

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is planned for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PlayStation Vita. Inti Creates is handling most of the game, while Armature Studio is tackling the Wii U and Vita versions.

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#1 SargeSmash 2 years ago

505 Games is also helping fund development of Indivisible, the only other gaming project I've crowd-funded. And I'm looking forward to that one, too! An Igavania and a Valkyrie Profile-inspired game are both right down my alley, so apparently 505 has good taste. :)Edited October 2016 by SargeSmash

#2 NateDizzy 2 years ago

I hope people don't get all panicky now that Iga is in bed with 505 games. Here's a non comprehensive list of the games they've helped out or funded: Rocket League, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Abzu, Virginia, and the still in development Indivisible (If you're a Valkyrie Profile fan, I suggest you keep an eye on this one). It's probably safe to say Iga's creative vision for Bloodstained won't be messed with.Edited October 2016 by NateDizzy

#3 TernBird 2 years ago

505 Games really are heroes for indie-games. Heck, they're part of the reason Indivisible even exists!

Context: most of Indivisible's budget was covered by 505, who is also publishing the game. Lab Zero only had to make $1 million in its crowdfunding, and 505 would thus pitch in another 2.5 million to ensure its production.

That said, I still have a sour taste in my mouth over how Bloodstainia: Symphony of the Night's crowdfunding went. Just $1 to prove there was interest in the game? Not cool. I sure hope IGA doesn't make a move like that again.

#4 NateDizzy 2 years ago

@TernBird "Just $1 to prove there was interest in the game? Not cool. I sure hope IGA doesn't make a move like that again."

Why? Iga was completely upfront that the Kickstarter was a way to show his financial partners there was interest in Bloodstained. The people who gave money knew what they were getting into.

#5 himuradrew 2 years ago

While I'm a big fan of Iga's CV games, I must admit that I didn't follow the development of Bloodstained especially now that it's been delayed to 2018.

This is the first time I've actually looked at the videos and seen the game in action and it looks absolutely amazing.

#6 docexe 2 years ago

I was a bit worried when I received the message from Kickstarter that they have gotten a publisher, but looking a bit more into 505 games reassured me.

And well, regarding the brief demo, graphics wise the game keeps looking better and better.

#7 VotesForCows 2 years ago

@SargeSmash Those are the only two games I'm crowd-funded too!

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#8 DiscordInc 2 years ago

For some reason I thought they has Deep Silver as their publisher. Maybe I was wrong, but I do prefer 505 Games

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#9 DedicatedDark 2 years ago

They certainly could use the marketing and the benefits of a publisher.

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#10 TernBird 2 years ago

@NateDizzy My problem with that is that many people didn't clue into that part, thus breeding the misconception that $1 million is all you need to make a game of the scope of Castlestain: Symphony of the Ritual. (Thus in part fueling further anger at Inafune for 'wasting' money with Mighty #9, or what have you.)

It's a poor move. People's money isn't an experiment; if 505 wasn't sure that IGA's name and creative vision wasn't enough, don't make consumers put their hard-earned cash on the line.

This goes for that hack of a Shenmue crowdfund, too. That was way uncool.

#11 NateDizzy 2 years ago

@TernBird My problem with that is that many people didn't clue into that part, thus breeding the misconception that $1 million is all you need to make a game of the scope of Castlestain: Symphony of the Ritual.

Like I said in my previous post, Iga was upfront about the Kickstarter money not being enough to fund the game fully. Hell, he said it repeatedly in interviews, and it's in the campaign video. It's not his fault if people willfully ignore what he's saying.