Zero Escape 3 was finally announced last week, leading to glorious celebration and triumphant rejoicing, that the third entry of the cerebral and chilling visual novel series would be made after all. No details really accompanied the announcement – we got the system and a rough release window, and that’s it – but at the time, it didn’t really matter, did it? No, we were getting a Zero Escape 3, and that was enough.

However, speaking to IGN, Zero Escape series creator Kotaro Uchikoshi revealed a little more about what exactly fans of the series should expect from the third game in the franchise when it launches next year.

“Your way of thinking, values, virtues will be intensely [shaken] during this game,” Uchikoshi said. “This game is even more philosophical than the past volumes. Of course it’ll be entertaining too!” he continued, pointing out that moral quandaries come at the center of Zero Escape 3.

He also assured us that Zero Escape 3 will be a conclusive and definitive end to the story- 999 and even more so, Virtue’s Last Reward ended with some questions maddeningly unanswered.

“I intend to answer every mystery left during VLR and the mysteries in ZE3 would be solved as well. This game will not end in a cliffhanger. However please take it as one break…if there are still fans requesting, I can not deny that there will not be new incidents arriving either,” Uchikoshi said.

Finally, he discussed how sequels to 999 came about when, in spite of a few unresolved plot threads, the game was narratively self contained.

“I wasn’t thinking of doing a continuation during 999. However thanks to fans world wide giving the game a high praise it grew into a series,” Uchikoshi said. “I am very thankful for this. Especially for Volume 2 and 3, my intentions were them being paired as a set so I really wanted to make Volume 3 happen.”

Personally, I am glad that Volume 3 is happening- not least because I really want to see that damn cliffhanger from Virtue’s Last Reward get resolved once and for all.

Zero Escape 3 launches on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita in Summer 2016.

One of the best kept secrets in video gaming is the Zero Escape series. The games got their start with the excellent 999 on the Nintendo DS, which took enamored whoever played it with a high concept science fiction plot and some amazing, mind bending puzzles, and continued on with 2012’s Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward on the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita, the sequel that took everything that 999 did, and did it bigger, raising the stakes of the overall plot in the process.

Virtue’s Last Reward ended in a massive cliffhanger to set up the third game in the franchise; unfortunately, due to low sales, Zero Escape 3 was canceled, and fans basically ended up losing all hope that a third game would ever be made. Well, to those fans who kept on hoping, US localizer Aksyss and director Kotaro Uchikoshi have come through- at Aksyss’ panel at the Anime Expo today, Zero Escape 3 was officially announced, for a Summer 2016 release. The game will be available on Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita.

More details are not known yet, though they might come tomorrow when Kotaro Uchikoshi holds his own panel. Stay tuned, and we will keep you posted.