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Castlevania successor 'Bloodstained' canceled on Wii U, switches to Switch

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Interview with Michiru Yamane
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the spiritual successor to Konami’s dormant Castlevania series, was originally scheduled to release on Nintendo’s long-struggling Wii U, but this is no longer the case. The Wii U port of the game has been canceled, and in its place is a version for the Nintendo Switch.
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Developer Inti Creates revealed the Switch version of Bloodstained on the game’s official Kickstarter page, saying that it “was hoping to announce the release to backers once the Switch version was further underway,” but that news had managed to leak early and director Koji Igarashi wished to discuss it — as well as the canceled Wii U version — with fans immediately.

“During our Kickstarter campaign, the Wii U was at the height of its popularity, but the situation has drastically changed after the release of Nintendo Switch,” Igarashi, better known as “IGA,” said in an update post. “This change made it difficult to receive the necessary support from the hardware maker, which has led us to drop the Wii U development and shift the development to Nintendo Switch.”

Anyone who had previously picked the Wii U as their platform of choice in the game’s Kickstarter backer survey will now automatically receive a Switch copy instead, and those who picked a different platform can swap to the Switch, as well, by changing the answers they submitted in their original survey.

If you don’t plan on picking up the Nintendo Switch and simply want a refund, those will be offered as well, provided that you had pledged at least $28 and you submit your request by April 20. Anyone who was due to receive the Wii U version as one of two copies of the game, available at a certain donation tier, can also change their donation amount so they only receive one game.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night promises to offer a return to the “Metroidvania” action and exploration that the Castlevania became known for following the release of Symphony of the Night. Director Igarashi became synonymous with the brand, leading development on acclaimed games like Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow before leaving Konami in 2014.

Bloodstained arrives in 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Switch, PC, Mac, and Linux.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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