Bayonetta 3 is still coming this year, according to Nintendo

It's been quite some time since we were last treated to Bayonetta's brand of slick hack and slash action. Bayonetta 2 was released back in 2014, and despite a third instalment being announced at The Game Awards in 2017, the Umbra Witch's next adventure has yet to see the light of day.

The first Bayonetta 3 gameplay footage was shown as part of a Nintendo Direct presentation in September 2021. This trailer also announced that the long-awaited sequel would launch sometime in 2022. Now we're fast approaching the mid-point of the year, and sadly there's still no word of a solid release date for Bayonetta 3. But according to material released as part of Nintendo's latest earnings report, the company still plans to launch the title before the end of the year.

Under Nintendo's launch schedule of first-party titles, Bayonetta 3 is simply listed as '2022', giving us no further indication of when exactly we can expect to play it. Still, it's reassuring to know that the game's launch window hasn't been pushed back to next year. With a 2022 release date still on the cards, we should be hearing more about Bayonetta 3 very soon.

Other titles on the list include Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which are set to launch in late 2022, and the highly anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild, which Nintendo plans to release in spring 2023. Also appearing on the list but with no specific release dates are Metroid Prime 4 and Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp.

Following the Nintendo Direct gameplay trailer last September, PlatinumGames gave an update on Bayonetta 3's progress, saying that the game was in the "final stages" of development. Bayonetta 3 director Hideki Kamiya urges players to get up to speed with the series if they plan to play the latest when it launches. In an interview earlier this year, he explained that Bayonetta 3 will be "more enjoyable" if you played the first two.

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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.