Necropolis delayed until summer on PC for simultaneous console release
Acquires new publishing deal with Bandai Namco.
Harebrained Schemes' upcoming action-roguelike Necropolis was slated for a March release on PC, but that's just been delayed until summer. That's the bad news. The good is that it will feature a simultaneous release on PS4 and Xbox One via a new publishing arrangement with Bandai Namco.
The plan is for the developer to self-publish on Steam while the Dark Souls publisher markets it towards the console crowd. "Bandai Namco knows how to bring games to consoles. They know the technical certification requirements, they know how to work with the PSN and Xbox stores, and they know how to market games to reach the right audience," Harebrained Schemes studio head Mitch Gitelman said in a Steam update. "I've seen a lot of posts on this forum talking about how people have never heard of Necropolis and how we have to step up our game to get the word out. Message received. We hope today's update to the Necropolis Steam page is a step in the right direction."
The developer further explained that it was its decision to delay the PC version as it didn't want to split its focus between patching one version and developing for another. "This wasn't Bandai Namco's idea - it was ours. While I hate to slip our release date, I know from experience that doing a console release right adds a significant amount of dev work. It's work that had to start right away (because consoles require a lot more lead-time for certification) but we didn't want the console work to shift our focus away from launching on PC. So we believe this is absolutely the right decision, and that the additional time will make for an even better Necropolis for consoles AND for PC."
Gitelman noted that those upset by this delay can cancel their pre-orders, though he urges folks to still give the game a chance upon its multi-platform release this summer.
I described Necropolis as a mix of Dark Souls and Seplunky with the general combat mechanics of the former meeting the procedural generation of the latter. It will also feature four-player co-op.
Here's a new trailer showing how Necropolis is shaping up:
