Castlevania dev returns with Kickstarter

Kickstarter has given plenty of PC developers a chance to revisit the genres that made them successful in the first place, but the crowdfunding platform is increasingly playing host to traditionally console-focused creators. Earlier this month, a handful of Rare veterans had an instantly Kickstarted campaign for a Banjo-Kazooie successor called Yooka-Laylee. Today, former Konami developer Koji Igarashi launched his own campaign that will see him return to the genre of his highly regarded PlayStation action game Castelvania: Symphony of the Night.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be a 2.5D exploration-focused action-platformer built on Unreal Engine 4. The game will be developed for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam by Inti Creates, a team with considerable experience in Kickstarted console games. The studio is also working on successfully crowdfunded games like Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 and Wayforward Technologies' Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.

"For years, I have wanted to continue exploring and refining this genre. Publishers of the world told me that gamers no longer care for this style of game," Igarashi said in his pitch video before angrily throwing his wine glass to the floor. "But I know they are wrong! I need your help to bring my vision to life!"

Igarashi said he has found unspecified partners willing to help with funding the project. However, their financial support is contingent on Igarashi's campaign proving out the consumer demand for Bloodstained. About an hour after it was launched, the Kickstarter campaign had raised $169,000 from about $2,225 backers. At that point, it had 32 days remaining to hit the $500,000 goal.

Update: In only a few hours after we posted this story, Bloodstained's Kickstarter campaign reached its $500,000 goal. As of this writing, the campaign has reached over $555k with 32 days to go still.