Some good news has finally surfaced regarding Devil’s Third, the new action game from Tomonobu Itagaki. After being dropped by THQ it remained unclear what would happen to Devil’s Third since it appeared as if the fledgling company was attempting to sell the new IP to the highest bidder. But in a rare good news situation, it has been confirmed that the rights for Devil’s Third have reverted back to Tomonobu and his new development studio.
The news concerning Devil’s Third comes directly from THQ as the company confirmed the news to Eurogamer. There’s not much in the way of key contractual details that need to be revealed concerning Devil’s Third as the property simply resides in the caring hands of Tomonobu and his team at Valhalla Game Studios. With Tomonobu now having control over the Devil’s Third IP it’ll be up to him to find a new home for the project and more importantly find an investor to give the team the required funds they need to actually finish the project.
Speaking in a new interview with Famitsu Tomonobu said, “Devil's Third development is in its final stage now, and is most expensive in this term. In the West, we need to spend a great deal for advertisements - as much as development cost - to sell a lot.” So to put it in a real perspective it seems that Devil’s Third is still an unfinished game without a home that may need at least $10 or even $20 million to finish. I don’t know if it’ll be easy to find a publisher to foot that bill since we all know how skiddish companies can be with new IP, but maybe Tomonobu can set something up in the future with a company that will be the perfect home for Devil’s Third.
So that’s your Devil’s Third update for today. The game is back in the hands of Tomonobu Itagaki but it’s still without a publisher and needs a hefty investment to finish. Unless Tomonobu finds a home for the game soon I wonder if Valhalla will be forced to shelve the project and do a contractual gig merely to stay afloat and get some revenue into the studio. It’s unlikely at this point that Devil’s Third will appear at TGS this year but who knows, may the game will have a new home by then.
