No More Heroes 3 Delayed Until 2021

Grasshopper Manufacture’s No More Heroes 3 won’t make it to its original 2020 release date, according to a statement by Goichi “Suda51” Suda. The statement was published on September 10, 2020 via Twitter:

I have a very important announcement to share today. pic.twitter.com/i4qTdNpYeD

— SUDA51/須田剛一 (@suda_51) September 10, 2020

In the statement, Suda apologized to fans who were excited about No More Heroes 3, acknowledging that year so far has been a “tough period” and that many were looking forward to further news since the game’s original reveal in 2019. Unfortunately, it’s been a tough period for Grasshopper Manufacture, and the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were a “body blow” to the development schedule, one that they’re only now beginning to recover from. As such, it was necessary to push back the final release date into 2021.

In more positive news, Suda announced a collaboration with artist Darick Robertson, who co-created the comic series Transmetropolitan and The Boys (which is currently being adapted as a live-action series on Amazon). Robertson will provide art for No More Heroes 3, a sample of which was posted by Suda shortly after the delay announcement:

Presenting "Demzamtiger & His Master" – a specially commissioned piece for NMH3 by Darick Robertson. pic.twitter.com/hk3FvsGJh7

— SUDA51/須田剛一 (@suda_51) September 10, 2020

No More Heroes 3 is the latest game in the No More Heroes franchise, which originally debuted on the Nintendo Wii in 2007. It stars Travis Touchdown, a nerd who buys a “beam katana” off eBay and decides that now is the time for him to become a master assassin. The original game combined motion-controlled combat with aspects of open-world minigames and life simulation. Grasshopper Manufacture also developed a sequel for the Wii, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.

No More Heroes 3 is destined for a Switch release sometime in 2021. In the meantime, fans can check out the Switch-based spin-off Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. The original No More Heroes was recently rated for a Switch release in Taiwan, hinting that plans may be afoot to port the older games to current platforms.