This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

Among third party Switch exclusives, Astral Chain is arguably one of the strongest. The action-packed sci-fi title from Platinum Games was a bit of a hit when it launched on Switch in the latter half of 2019, going on to sell ‘above expectations’ according to the game’s director.

The strong performance clearly didn’t go unnoticed by Nintendo, as despite the game being originally owned by both Platinum and Nintendo, eagle-eyed fans had spotted that the copyright notice on Platinum’s website had been tweaked to reference Nintendo alone.

Speaking to VGC, studio head Atsushi Inaba confirmed that Nintendo have indeed taken sole ownership of the Astral Chain property:

“It’s as it looks. It’s as it is written on the website: Astral Chain is their IP and as such there are limitations on how much we feel we should talk about.”

When VGC asked for further clarification, a Platinum Games spokesperson said the company was “not in a position to answer this question.”

What this means for any potential sequel is as-yet unclear. Fingers crossed though that Nintendo are keen to expand the IP with more titles further down the line. Who knows, we might even see Akira represent the game in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Were you a fan of Astral Chain? Let us know your thoughts on Nintendo now owning the IP down in the comments!

Source: VGC