Konami has been the center of business controversies in the gaming industry ever since they pulled out of the console market in 2015. Between canceling titles such as Silent Hills, and the treatment of sub-studios and employees (particularly Hideo Kojima), the company has gained a reputation of being unreliable. Looking back, I almost find it hard to think I rated them so highly, thinking they dominated aspects of the gaming market with popular franchises such as Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Castlevania. Since the company turned their main focus away from console gaming in favor of mobile game development, thinking that was where the future of gaming was, all of their franchises save Yu-Gi-Oh have seen hiatus and even veteran game developers such as Koji Igarashi (Castlevania) and Kojima (Metal Gear) leaving the company to start their own studios.
Announced in 2018, Castlevania was said to be receiving a mobile game for Apple and Android devices, titled Grimoire of Souls. It was intended to be a reboot for the series after not seeing any new additions since Castlevania: Lord of Shadows 2 (2014). Beta testing and game footage showed Grimoire of Souls featuring online multiplayer and story mode spanning across the entire Castlevania timeline and even including new characters, all with the classic 2D Castlevania gameplay fans fell in love with, despite many franchises born around the same time having since shifted to 3D gameplay.
In September, 2019, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls was released exclusively in Canada, with little promotion. I was presumed to be a closed, regional beta by many. A month later, the announcement trailer was published on Komani’s official YouTube channel with no worldwide release date accompanying it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXqzoga3-O4
Too good to be true, Konami announced via the app that Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls would be shutting down not even a year after the beta launch. The game never saw a proper worldwide release. Reasons behind the sudden shut down were not reported. Speculations, include a lack of active players during the beta launch, poor revenue from microtransactions, or development issues, are doing the rounds.
Those who have had the pleasure of playing Grimoire of Souls will be able to continue until September this year.
Is there any hope that fans can see anything beyond pachinko machines or a new line of Yu-Gi-Oh cards from Konami? Has the Belmont clan finally sealed Count Dracula away forever? As the years tick by, I find myself more hopeful every time I see rumors and “leaks” of other companies supposedly in negotiation to buy the intellectual property of Konami’s all-but-dead franchises. Although Grimoire of Souls didn’t work out, Castlevania fans still have season 4 of the Netflix series to look forward to, as well as the new Bloodstained expansion, produced by ex-Konami and Castlevania developer, Koji Igarashi.
