Wii U Exclusive Devil's Third Dev Teases Ambitious Multiplayer Plans

Creator Tomonobu Itagaki hasn't said much about upcoming Wii U exclusive Devil's Third since E3 2014 in June, but that's now changed. The Valhalla Game Studios head gave a detailed status update for the game recently in a Japanese Facebook post, which was translated by Gematsu.

He says development on the project--which blends melee and shooting--is "going smoothly," adding that Valhalla recently finished editing the final cinematic. That's all to say Devil's Third remains on track for its previously scheduled 2015 release.

Itagaki adds that the scale of Devil's Third's story mode is greater than Ninja Gaiden, another franchise for which he is well known. He also boasts that the game's multiplayer mode will be a major step forward for the shooter genre, though he didn't offer much in the way of specifics.

"Devil's Third demolishes the standard of past console games in online multiplayer," he said. "Almost all specifications I wanted to do were implemented. I got an up-close look at the great forerunners Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War, and my beloved Halo. On that basis, we added completely new level of playability that only we can create."

Itagaki also explains that nearly anyone will be able to enjoy Devil's Third. "Let me put it this way. You guys can throw a fun party, or can kill each other in realistic war," he said. "You can play your heart out."

Devil's Third has been cooking for years. It was originally revealed in 2010, and was at the time intended to be published by the now-defunct THQ for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. After THQ went bankrupt in 2012, the game's fate was left in the balance. However, Itagaki reclaimed the Devil's Third rights from THQ and revealed during E3 this summer that the game had become a Wii U exclusive.

You can see Devil's Third in action and hear directly from Itagaki in the video above.