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‘Bayonetta 3’: News, rumors, and everything we know

Bayonetta 3 Official Teaser Trailer - The Game Awards 2017
The deadly witch Bayonetta had been dormant for several years. Following the release of the Wii U-exclusive Bayonetta 2, developer PlatinumGames moved onto several other projects, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan and this year’s Nier: Automata. But at The Game Awards on December 7, Platinum and Nintendo revealed the Switch-exclusive sequel we’ve been waiting for. Here is everything we know about Bayonetta 3.

It’s a Nintendo Switch exclusive

Like its predecessor, Bayonetta 3 will be published by Nintendo and will be a Switch exclusive for the foreseeable future. Nintendo published Bayonetta 2 after Sega passed on the sequel.

For those of you who are new to the franchise — don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to catch up. The entire Bayonetta trilogy will be coming to the Switch.

During The Game Awards 2017 reveal, PlatinumGames also announced that the first two games will also be coming to the Switch February 16. Technically, the package will be released as a port of Bayonetta 2, though the game will come with a free digital download of the original. Nintendo and Platinum have not announced a release window for Bayonetta 3.

The first two games will have Switch-specific features that will presumably make their way into Bayonetta 3, as well. According to a now-deleted PlatinumGames post spotted by Polygon, the two games will support wireless cooperative play, as well as Amiibo and video-sharing support. On Bayonetta 3‘s official page, it listed support for up to two players, as well.

It could be a prequel

Evidence of this claim is extremely scant right now, but we have one indicator that Bayonetta 3 could take place before Bayonetta 2: Her hair. In the teaser trailer released during The Game Awards, Bayonetta can be seen with a long hairdo similar to what she had in the first game. In the sequel, her hair had been cut to a bob-length, making it instantly recognizable from its older sibling on store shelves.

Of course, there are two reasons this doesn’t necessarily mean the game is a prequel. The first is time — Bayonetta could have simply grown her hair out again, and the game could take place years or millennia after the previous game.

The second: Bayonetta’s magical ability to use her hair as a bodysuit and as a weapon. In the past, we’ve seen her hair change into a giant monster to attack enormous enemies while she stood in place, so it doesn’t seem crazy to imagine that she can grow or shorten her hair at will.

A spectral creature

At the very end of the teaser trailer, Bayonetta stands still as she spots a ghost-like figure standing in the distance. The creature appears to be on fire, and it fades away with the wind as Bayonetta collapses, dropping her signature pistols before the game’s logo appears — the number “3” is created by the crack in the center of a medallion, the purpose of which is not made clear.

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Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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