Last month, headlines hit the web regarding a potential follow-up to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, with 505 Games' parent company, Digital Bros, claiming that a Bloodstained sequel was in development during its Q3 financial presentation. Yesterday, the official Bloodstained Twitter account confirmed the report to be accurate, stating that a sequel is currently in the early stages of production.
Little else was mentioned about the new title other than the fact that players shouldn't expect it anytime soon, with ArtPlay confirming that its main priority going forward is to work on the original Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The team allegedly intends to focus on the previous game's "upcoming content," working to better the original before full production on the sequel goes ahead.
There's definitely a lot of potential for a new addition to the Bloodstained universe, with the original game managing to win over a lot of fans back in 2019. The Metroidvania was led by Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi and was intended to be a spiritual successor to the iconic franchise, offering retro 2D combat, platforming, and the ability to explore a range of expansive environments located throughout the title's sprawling castle setting.
The game was the product of an incredibly successful Kickstarter back in 2015, managing to hit its target the day it arrived on the crowdfunding site. Over the course of its campaign, it raised a whopping $5.5 million through 64,000 backers, securing ArtPlay the money to fully develop the game. Since its release, the title has managed to sell over a million copies, becoming a major success and a franchise 505 Games is clearly interested in investing in further. The publisher has shown a similar interest in fellow-new-IP Ghostrunner, with the company recently announcing that the first-person, sci-fi action game was in the early stages of getting an official follow-up.
The publisher admitted it sees a lot of potential in Ghostrunner during a recent press release, claiming that it could spin into a long-running franchise. It even acquired the IP in March this year, spending €5 million to bring it into its roster of gaming properties. In terms of the sequel, it's already invested a substantial budget and attached returning development studio One More Level, clearly hoping the next game will manage to drum up similar sales to its successful predecessor. Regardless, both games are very early into production, so fans will have to wait a while before 505 Games and their respective studios are ready to show off what comes next.
Source: Kickstarter, Digital Bros