WayForward Announces Shantae 5 For Consoles, PC, Apple Arcade

Published: March 27, 2019 9:20 AM /

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shantae 5

Developer WayForward has announced Shantae 5, the fifth game in its ongoing Shantae platformer series.

WayForward doesn't have a name for the game yet and is simply referring to it as Shantae 5. It'll be released for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and the newly-announced Apple Arcade. Current reports suggest that Apple Arcade games will be mobile platform and subscription service-exclusive, so you won't be seeing Shantae 5 on Android or Utomik any time soon (if ever).

https://twitter.com/WayForward/status/1110323020277661696

Details on Shantae 5 are pretty scant right now, so we don't know how the game will shape up narratively. According to Twitter user @Mello_Naper, a very brief segment of Shantae 5 gameplay can be seen in a trailer for Apple Arcade. The footage is super-brief and shows Shantae shattering pots with her hair. If that footage is anything to go on, the fifth game will continue the stylised 2D platforming of its predecessors. It's all we've got right now of Shantae 5 since WayForward is promising more details as time goes on.

In a series of replies to the above tweet, WayForward detailed a few more things about the game and the Shantae franchise as a whole. The studio says it's focused on finishing the new game and has "no plans" to bring the rest of the series to Nintendo Switch. Shantae 5 will be self-funded and won't be available for crowdfunding. The game has "many months left" before it's finished, according to WayForward, and the final name "may or may not" simply be Shantae 5. In response to a user who asks whether the game will be available on Steam or the Epic Games Store, WayForward simply says "please wait for additional details". That probably doesn't mean too much at this stage, but it wouldn't be a massive surprise if the game turned out to be a timed Epic exclusive given the recent trend.

The Shantae franchise began with Shantae for Game Boy Color in 2002. Three more games followed: Risky's Revenge in 2010, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse in 2014, and the Kickstarter-funded Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in 2016. The games have been consistently well-received critically and commercially.

Are you looking forward to Shantae 5? What would you call it? Let us know in the comments below!

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