Nintendo quietly moves Bayonetta 3 release date from 2019 to "TBA"

Image credit: Platinum Games

The Bayonetta 3 release date has remained up in the air for some time, though various quotes from Nintendo execs since the reveal of Platinum Games' threequel in 2017 has heavily implied a 2019 release window at the least... until now. That's thanks to Nintendo's newly released quarterly financial report, which lists all of its upcoming Switch games and their respective release dates, once again confirming that both Animal Crossing Switch and Luigi's Mansion 3 will indeed be releasing this year.

However, Bayonetta 3 is mysteriously given a release date of "TBA" (To Be Announced), the only other game it shares that acronym with being Metroid Prime 4, which got completely rebooted and handed over to another developer unexpectedly last year. That spells bad news for those of us expecting to play Bayonetta 3 sometime later this year, but hopefully the internal delay is merely a small pushback for extra polish, rather than an indication of development woes over at Platinum Games. 

There's every chance Bayonetta 3 will make an appearance in June this year, when Nintendo shows off its E3 2019 games as part of its Nintendo Direct livestream, but it's not known whether that will be tagged with any news about the game's schedule. 

Still, with both a new Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing on the way for 2019, not to mention two new Pokemon Switch games in the form of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, owners of Nintendo's portable console can hardly complain. If Platinum needs more time to perfect the threequel to its action-adventure hack and slash series, then we're happy to wait as long as it takes. 

There's a reason we're excited about Bayonetta 3. It's predecessor, Bayonetta 2, is one of the best Nintendo Switch games that you can play right now. Watch the official teaser trailer for the sequel below. 

Alex Avard

I'm GamesRadar's Features Writer, which makes me responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet! 

Latest in Games
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says
First-person screenshot from ASYLUM, showing the protagonist's hand holding up a notebook while walking through a dark corridor.
After 15 years and a $120,000 Kickstarter push, this cult horror dev has finally released a successor to their 2006 breakout game
Latest in News
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says
First-person screenshot from ASYLUM, showing the protagonist's hand holding up a notebook while walking through a dark corridor.
After 15 years and a $120,000 Kickstarter push, this cult horror dev has finally released a successor to their 2006 breakout game