All Articles: Mighty No. 9

There is no joy in Mudville… Mighty Keiji has delayed again.

Keiji Inafune and his team at have Comcept have informed Kickstarter backers that Mighty No. 9 has been delayed again. The platformer won’t be able to meet its planned release date of February 9 and will instead now launch sometime in the Spring. Once again citing bugs in the network code as the reason for the delay, all the developer could do was apologize:

The reason for the delay is rooted in bugs inside the network modes, and specifically problems with matchmaking. There are two large reasons for this problem, one of them being the large number of platforms supported (the solution for each platform is slightly different) and the other stems from the fact that the engine we are using is no longer being updated which means adjustments for matchmaking and online code are being made manually (actually reprogramming parts of the engine by the dev team themselves).

Unfortunately, this is all a result of miscalculations on the part of us, the development staff. As a result, our fans who have been looking forward to Mighty No. 9 have been forced to wait for over half a year longer than expected, and for that we are sincerely sorry. I want to take this chance to apologize personally, and on the behalf of the development staff.

Inafune added that the development team “has been working on these issues non-stop without break” and that “the end is in sight.” If that’s true, Mighty No. 9 will finally be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this Spring.

Because Mighty No. 9 is developer Keiji Inafune’s loving homage to the Mega Man series, it features many hallmarks of the wildly popular franchise. You want a side-scrolling platformer? You got it. You want a robotic main character who can absorb abilities from enemy robots? Yup, that’s here too. So it should come as no surprise that the announcer in this “Features Trailer” is bombastic and a little ridiculous… just like he would have been in the carefree 90s.

So learn a little more about Mighty No. 9’s Boss Rush Mode, Challenge Mode, Online Challenge Mode (Competitive and Co-Op), and One-Hit Death Maniac Mode, and get yourself ready for the game’s release on February 9, 2016.

Here we go again…

After their rather shady treatment of the gaming public and a string of delays, publisher Deep Silver and developer Comcept are finally ready to reveal the release date for Mighty No. 9. Barring any further setbacks, Keiji Inafune’s spiritual successor to the Mega Man franchise will officially launch on February 9, 2016.

Mighty No. 9 will be available on store shelves and as a digital download for the PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One. Players will also be able to pick it up exclusively as a digital download for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A portable version of Mighty No. 9 for the 3DS and Vita is also in the works and will be released at a later date.

With the game’s final release date set in store, Deep Silver and Comcept are also ready to release the promised demo edition. Kickstarter backers are encouraged to visit Humble Bundle (and register with the same email address connected to their pledge) to receive access to the demo.

Comcept has announced Mighty No. 9 will miss its originally scheduled September 15 release date, confirming two previous reports (1, 2) that the game had been delayed. Offering an apology in an update to the game’s Kickstarter page, the developer said that Mighty No. 9 will now be released in “Q1 2016.”

Comcept’s representatives also elaborated on the reasons behind the delay:

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, [C]omcept and their partners are working at full capacity to resolve these issues and fix any remaining bugs.

Due to the change in release date, Kickstarter backers should expect to receive another platform survey closer to the final release date. Currently in development for the 3DS, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, Comcept has said they will announce a “solid” release date for Mighty No. 9 when they can.

Last week, we told you that most retailers had removed Mighty No. 9‘s previously-announced release date of September 15, 2015 from their online storefronts. Today, GameStop revealed to Game Informer that their corporate policy states this type of release date change is only made at the request of the developer or publisher. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that Mighty No. 9 will be released for any of its planned platforms (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One) by the end of the year. Mighty No. 9 is also in development for the 3DS and Vita, but its tentative “late 2015” release date has probably been erased as well.

Game Informer attempted to contact both Deep Silver and Comcept for comment, but the publication was unsuccessful. Publisher Deep Silver refused to comment, while developer Comcept didn’t reply to the request at all.

While it’s just speculation on my part (and Game Informer’s, for that matter), I believe Comcept is staying quiet about Mighty No. 9’s delay because the crowdfunding campaign for their next game, Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, is currently in its final hours. With just under three days to go, the game has only secured funding for 60% of its $800,000 target, and a delay to their high profile spiritual successor to the Mega Man franchise can only hurt the public’s confidence in the developer.

At this pace, it probably won’t reach its goal, but Comcept recently signed a publishing agreement with Fuze and will complete the game regardless.

After signing a publishing deal with Deep Silver, Keiji Inafune’s Mighty No. 9 was given a September 15 release date by the publisher for its launch on the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U Xbox 360, and Xbox One. But now it appears that that release date is in jeopardy as nearly every major video game retailer has changed the game’s release date to a placeholder date of “December 31, 2016” instead.

The placeholder release date, which strongly suggests a delay for Mighty No. 9, is currently shown on Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, and Newegg. However, the game’s original release date is still listed at Target and Best Buy. So hope is not lost.

VideoGamer attempted to get to the bottom of this by contacting Deep Silver, but the publisher declined to comment. Uh oh, I think I lost that hope. Can someone help me find it?

Hopefully Deep Silver or Keiji Inafune and his team at Comcept will clear up Mighty No. 9’s release date soon.