Original Danganronpa mastermind Kazutaka Kodaka is back in the saddle with the remake Danganronpa 2x2 in the works under his supervision, but that sure isn't going to stop him from playing GTA 6 when it finally comes out.
Kodaka, alongside producer Shohei Sakakibara, spoke to Crunchyroll about the decision to return to Danganronpa 2. Asked about Danganronpa 2x2's delay to 2027, Sakakibara explains, "Of course, we wanted more development time. Very natural, right? But separate from that, there's a certain AAA/AAAA title that is gonna be released soon, so we wanted to avoid that a little bit."
Addressing the Rockstar-shaped elephant in the room, Kodaka adds, "I wouldn’t have time to make the game while playing GTA 6, so it was inevitable that we moved the release time."
Typically, developers shift release dates away from major titles to avoid interest or sales in their own game being devoured by a bigger fish. But delaying your own game just so you can play somebody else's seems like sound reasoning. After all, you're the boss, and if you're into that other game, surely other people must be.
Others have chosen to sidle right up to GTA 6, look it straight in the eye, and tell it this town (November 19) ain't big enough for the two of 'em. Others, still, abandon this plan at the last minute.
Interestingly, Sakakibara says the original Danganronpa was also considered "as the base of this remake," but the second game felt like a better fit for new scenarios. Kodaka says that if Danganronpa 2x2 does well, "we may reconsider" plans to revisit the first game or Danganronpa V3.
Danganronpa 2x2 includes a separate story route dubbed "Slayhem," and Sakakibara says it's no small addition. "In the original mode, we're looking at around 30 hours of gameplay, versus the Slayhem mode being about 35 hours of gameplay. It's mainly due to the sheer amount of text that's going to be in Slayhem," he says.
