Romeo is a Deadman is Grasshopper Manufacture’s first brand new IP under NetEase Games. It’s also the studio’s first game to self-publish with a lower launch price, which didn’t hinder its relationship with the parent company. Suda51 explained how Romeo is a Deadman developed and the possible future opportunity, including a new platform release.
Suda51 explained the next steps for Grasshopper Manufacture during a Video Game Chronicles interview. The studio isn’t just finalizing approval for Romeo is a Deadman’s release date, but also working on other ideas unannounced to the public. Some in-studio information isn’t even shared with every coworker, making it exclusive for selected people.
What is confirmed is the significant amount of passion for Romeo is a Deadman with the studio’s unique style mixed with action-packed gameplay and in-depth lore. Suda51 sees potential for the new IP to grow into its own franchise, ideally a Deadman trilogy. The support isn’t definite, though the new IP could evolve similarly to No More Heroes, with not just major titles to continue the series, but also small-scale, unique projects like Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.
“So we’re going to be putting out Romeo is a Dead Man, and we originally had the idea to make it part of basically a Dead Man trilogy. That’s not to say that’s definitely going to happen, or the next game is definitely going to be Romeo 2 or something.”
The game is coming to every major platform except Nintendo. Suda51 hinted at a chance for a Nintendo Switch 2 port, but the studio likes the game to launch perfectly for every platform. Since the Studio is doing a lot of new things for the game, like self-publishing and managing Unreal Engine 5, it will take time for the developers to gain familiarity with the ambitious title, especially with the in-game bright particle effects. Even if the game doesn’t make it to the Nintendo Switch 2, Suda51 sees other opportunities to bring his creative work to the latest Nintendo console.
“And since we’re using Unreal Engine 5 for Romeo is a Dead Man, we need to make sure that we can find a way that the engine is going to play nicely with Switch 2, using stuff like Nanite and Lumen and other things – some of them are new to us, some of them them might have issues with Switch 2, with porting and stuff.”
