When it comes to Bayonetta 3, no news may be good news. According to Nintendo, the elusive action sequel is still due out sometime later this year. Beyond that, though, we still have precious little information about the game — and we’ll have to keep waiting to learn the exact release date.
Information comes from Nintendo’s official release schedule, which the company updated today (May 10). The document outlines every major Switch release between now and the end of the year, provided that Nintendo doesn’t have a surprise announcement between now and then. (It’s not impossible. Remember that last year, Nintendo announced Metroid Dread in June and released the game in October.)
Most of the release schedule comprises stuff we already knew, including Mario Strikers: Battle League on June 10, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on July 29 and Splatoon 3 on September 9. However, if you scroll to the bottom of the list, you’ll see a “Release Date TBD” category. Bayonetta 3 is here, along with Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
When Bayonetta 3’s most recent gameplay trailer debuted in September 2021, it teased that the game would come out sometime in 2022. So far, it seems that Nintendo is holding fast to that idea. If Nintendo were going to delay Bayonetta 3 until 2023, today’s release schedule update would have been an opportune time to do so. While anything could happen between now and the end of the year, it’s reassuring to think that we could finally see Bayonetta 3 within the next seven months. After all, it’s been eight years since Bayonetta 2, and that feels like a long enough wait.
It's also worth noting that "The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is also listed on the release schedule, with a window of "2023 Spring." This is in line with what Nintendo told fans a few weeks ago, when it delayed Breath of the Wild 2. It also means that the Zelda sequel still doesn’t have an official title, so hopefully Nintendo will provide more information about this game within the next few months.
Having more high-profile, first-party games in 2022 could be a boon for Nintendo, whose hardware sales are down 20% compared to last year. The Switch has already sold more than 100 million units, and the global chip shortage has made it difficult to produce new consoles. Nintendo has no official plans to release new hardware yet, though, so for now, the company seems focused on its game lineup.
