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An Exclusive Castlevania Game Is Shutting Down

GameSpot
GamesRadar+
Nintendo Everything
4outlets covering
8.4hspread over
+5hmedian lag
0.3outlets/hr now
TDGN Brief

Nintendo Everything broke this story 10 hours ago, and 3 more newsrooms have run it since — 4 in all, spread over 8.4 hours.

GamesRadar+ was quickest to confirm, arriving 1.8 hours after Nintendo Everything. Half the pack had the story within 4.7 hours — a slower burn than most front-page stories. The pack has settled: no new outlet in 1.5 hours.

Nintendo Everything, GamesRadar+, Polygon led the coverage; another 1 outlets have since picked it up.

  • First report: Nintendo Everything, 10 hours ago
  • 4 outlets over 8.4 hours · median lag 4.7 hours

This briefing is compiled automatically by TDGN’s newsroom systems from 4 outlets’ reports and TDGN’s own coverage tracking — no generative AI — and it updates as coverage develops. The outlets’ original reporting is linked below.

Who reported it, and when

  1. first Nintendo Everything Nakana.io shutting down, Nintendo Switch sale live with opportunity to get games for 10 cents
  2. +2h GamesRadar+ Konami’s Castlevania relaunch will be delisted and removed before the popular side-scroller gets the chance to escape Apple Arcade jail
  3. +5h Polygon Castlevania's Underrated Mobile Game is About to be Shutdown Forever
  4. +8h GameSpot An Exclusive Castlevania Game Is Shutting Down

This page records how the games press covered one story. The reporting belongs to the outlets listed; every headline links to the original. Counts update as more outlets publish. The article itself follows below.

Rising4 outlets·0.3/hr nowtop 10%first: Nintendo Everything

An Exclusive Castlevania Game Is Shutting Down

GameSpot · ·

The Apple Arcade-exclusive Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls won't be playable for much longer, developer Konami has announced.

In a post on social media and the game's official website, Konami confirmed Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will be removed from Apple's gaming subscription service on August 20. Despite Konami stating the game has "continued to be supported by many players," it will also shut down permanently and no longer be playable on September 3. 

"We would like to express our gratitude to all of our players for their enthusiastic support throughout the years," Konami said. "The entire development and operations team sincerely thanks you for being part of this journey."

https://twitter.com/Konami/status/2089398860447695213?s=20

Konami didn't give any real reason for the decision. Originally released in 2019, Grimoire of Souls was removed from mobile storefronts and then re-released as an Apple Arcade exclusive in September 2021 with a number of improvements, including the removal of various microtransactions.

At the time of its release, Grimoire of Souls was the first new Castlevania game since 2014's Castlevania: Lord of Shadows 2. Its story concluded back in 2022 with an update that provided new revelations related to Dracula's defeat in 1990's Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.

Despite being on mobile, Grimoire of Souls is in many ways a traditional 2D Castlevania game, featuring character designs from longtime franchise artist Ayami Kojima and music from Michiru Yamane. Many franchise fan-favorites, including Alucard and Simon Belmont, are playable characters, and the game even supports multiplayer co-op. 

One look at the comments about the game's shutdown on X or its launch trailer on

shows there is definitely an appetite for Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls to be ported to consoles or PC. Whether its removal from Apple Arcade means Konami may eventually sell it on other platforms remains to be seen.

Thankfully, Castlevania fans don't have to wait long for a new entry in the series. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, from the makers of the critically acclaimed Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia, is coming this December. Despite the developer's roguelite pedigree, Belmont's Curse will be a Castlevania game in the classic style, according to Konami.

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