Over the years, PlatinumGames has become very close with Nintendo, notably with Nintendo-exclusive games like Bayonetta 2, Star Fox Zero, and originally The Wonderful 101. Fans have been awaiting the arrival of Bayonetta 3 on the Nintendo Switch after it was announced at The Game Awards 2017, but Nintendo and PlatinumGames did work to bring an entirely new IP to the Switch in 2019: Astral Chain.
The action-adventure hack-and-slash game was generally well received and has sold over one million copies worldwide. While PlatinumGames’ work has been silent as of late, aside from the recent release of The Wonderful 101: Remastered, it seems that some interesting changes related to the Astral Chain IP have appeared on the developer’s Japanese website.
While some fans have been keeping an eye on PlatinumGames for updates on Bayonetta 3, ResetEra users have noticed that the page for Astral Chain on the developer’s Japanese website no longer includes PlatinumGames along with Nintendo in the IP’s copyright. This was pointed how by user evilmonkey, who compared screenshots of how the website looks now to how it did a couple of months ago.
While an official statement has not been made by either Platinum nor Nintendo, this has fans wondering what Nintendo could be up to with the Astral Chain IP, especially as Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya has reportedly already teased an Astral Chain sequel. One thing this shift in copyright ownership could mean is that Astral Chain will remain exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, along with any potential sequels. This occurrence has fans puzzled, as Nintendo tends to freely share copyrights with its development partners, such as the joint ownership of the Xenoblade IP before Nintendo’s acquisition of Monolith Soft.
ResetEra user SinCityAssassin theorizes that sales of Astral Chain could have slowed down enough to where PlatinumGames opted to sell Nintendo the remaining rights to the IP, and others think that this could mean Nintendo potentially has more plans for Astral Chain without Platinum. Either way, while Astral Chain sold fairly well, more exclusive IPs could translate to more Switch sales for Nintendo, and potentially more content for Nintendo Switch owners.
This copyright change also has fans wondering if Nintendo has had more acquisitions on its mind aside from Next Level Games. Regardless, 2021 is already shaping up to include some interesting changes for Nintendo, so fans of the company may have a lot to look forward to.
Astral Chain is available now, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Source: ResetEra
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