Despite previous statements denying a release delay, Mighty No. 9 has been officially pushed into the first quarter of next year.

Mighty No. 9 is the result of one of the most successful video game Kickstarter campaigns to-date. From Keiji Inafune, Comcept and Inti Creates, the side-scrolling action title is a multiplatform spiritual successor to Inafune’s previous works at Capcom- the Mega Man saga. Within the first 48 hours of the 2013 crowdfunding campaign, gamers contributed over $900,000, thus securing the release of Mighty No. 9 on PC; the Kickstarter closed with more than $3,800,000 in contributed funds, guaranteeing a multiplatform release. In the height of the title’s popularity, both an animated series and film were revealed to be in production.

While the game was originally expected to launch this past April, Mighty No. 9 was delayed into Summer, and again to an official release date of Sept. 15 for all versions. To the dismay of watchful fans, several retail outlets- including GameStop and Best Buy– started removing the official release date in exchange for tentative “Holiday 2015” and “2016” windows. While these changes were played off as “glitches” and false listings, Comcept officially revealed that Mighty No. 9 will be in fact delayed to 2016. A private statement sent to Kickstarter backers confirmed that the title has been pushed back due to bugs and “other issues” with the online components, though the core content of the game is already complete:

“We are unable to confirm a final release date at this time, however we will be aiming for a release in Q1 2016.
Once a solid release date is set, we will announce it immediately to our backers and fans.

Of course, it is important to explain why exactly the game is being delayed.

As we have communicated in the updates to our backers, all of the core content for the game is developed and in a complete state.

However, there are still bugs and issues pertaining to the online features that are included in the game. These bugs and issues
have a direct affect on enjoyment of the game, so a decision was made to work these issues out before release.

Currently, Comcept and their partners are working at full capacity to resolve these issues and fix any remaining bugs.”

While GameStop and others are listing 2016 as the new release window, the Steam listing still claims that title will unlock on Sept. 15. There may be a possibility that the Steam version will release on-time with updates administered as needed, while the physical versions will release after additional QA testing has been completed; physical distribution is handled by publisher Deep Silver.

Mighty No. 9 will release in Q1 2016 for PC/Mac/Linux, Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, Wii U and 3DS.

Sources: NeoGAF, Steam, GameStop, Best Buy
Image courtesy of Comcept, Inti Creates, Deep Silver