Santa Monica Studio Game Director Eric Williams wants to follow up on the success ofGod of War Ragnarokby making aCastlevaniagame, the industry veteran revealed in a recent interview. During his appearance in the latest episode of Kinda Funny Games Spoilercast, Williams said he’s uncertain on what his next project is going to be, but noted that his team would “love” to make aCastlevaniagame should they somehow procure a license to do so from Konami.
While Williams’s comment was likely made in jest, it serves as yet another reminder that one of gaming’s most iconic franchises has been stuck in limbo for nearly a decade by now, with its latest mainline installment being 2014’sCastlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Since then, Konami has only greenlit two pachinko games andCastlevania: Grimoire of Souls, a mobile spinoff that was soft-launched and promptly canceled in 2019, only to reappear on Apple Arcade last year.
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Appearing in good spirits during the Monday interview, Williams implied that the Spoilercast crew might be able to help Studio Santa Monica with procuring theCastlevanialicense on account of their global outreach, before jokingly acknowledging how that statement alone is bound to land him into “so much trouble.” Facetious or not, this isn’t the first occasion on which the veteran game designer professed his adoration for theCastlevaniafranchise. Around this time last year, Williams citedCastlevania 2: Simon’s Questas one of themainGod of War Ragnarokinfluences.
Williams was part of everyGod of Wardevelopment team ever, butRagnarokwas the first game he ever directed. Studio Santa Monica has a long-standing tradition of switching directors between projects in an effort to maintain a fresh creative perspective, as previously revealed by Cory Barlog, who helmed the development of the 2018God of Warreboot.
As for the likelihood that Konami ever considers licensing theCastlevaniaIP to Sony, stranger things have happened. Though the Japanese entertainment giant seemingly took a step back from AAA development following its fallout with Hideo Kojima during the development ofMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Painand the lackluster reception ofMetal Gear Survive,its recent revival of theSilent Hillfranchiseshows that the company is still adamant to make some use of its gaming IPs beyond the pachinko world.
What’s more, the relative success of the NetflixCastlevaniaseries and the Apple partnership that led to the revival ofCastlevania: Grimoire of Soulsboth clearly demonstrate that Konami is not opposed to the idea of lending the iconic franchise to third parties, even if it remains reluctant to commit to a new mainline game.
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