PlatinumGames’ The Wonderful 101: Remastered has been a huge hit on Kickstarter, amassing over $1.9 million in crowd-funding. It currently has a release date for all platforms with the first gameplay footage emerging at PAX East 2020. However, while the game is slated for PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC, the Xbox One remains conspicuously absent.
Is there not enough interest on the platform or did other obstacles get in the way? Speaking to Gematsu at PAX East, director Hideki Kamiya stated that it was down to technical hurdles. “But the fact of the matter was that the original engine for the game and the engine for the Xbox One are very different, and it’s not easy to port like the other systems. So as a result of that, unfortunately, and regrettably, we had to relinquish the Xbox One release.”
An Xbox One port isn’t completely out of the question, but the process itself will be expensive. “It’s just a very costly thing to do and we don’t have the ability to do it in-house. I don’t want to say it will never happen. If the right things come together and we get enough money, it might be possible, but it’s just an expensive thing to do. We did want to do it—it’s purely for that reason that we couldn’t.”
PlatinumGames has other projects in the works besides The Wonderful 101: Remastered. Besides Bayonetta 3 for Nintendo Switch and Babylon’s Fall for PS4 and PC, it’s also working on Project G.G. for current gen platforms (while keeping Xbox Series X and PS5 in mind as well). The developer also confirmed that its fourth and final announcement as part of Platinum 4 isn’t too far off and would be a “doozy.” So stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
The Wonderful 101: Remastered is set to release on May 19th in North America and May 22nd in Europe for PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
