Devil's Third US Release Date is "Q4," With Free Version Coming to PC

Devil's Third, the Wii U action game directed by Ninja Gaiden designer Tomonobu Itagaki, is now scheduled for release across North America in the final three months of 2015.

Following two weeks of speculation suggesting that Nintendo was considering pulling support for Devil's Third, developer Valhalla Game Studios reiterated that Nintendo was still signed on as the publisher.

"Valhalla and Nintendo have decided to release Devil’s Third for Wii U in the 4th calendar quarter of 2015," a statement from the studio read. In Europe, the game is set to ship on August 28, suggesting that the western code is finished.

Meanwhile, Valhalla revealed that it has also developed a "free-to-play" edition of the game, exclusively for PC.

Devil’s Third Online will release on PC across Japan, Europe, and the US, but no sooner than the Wii U edition is released in each region. Valhalla added that the story campaign will remain exclusive to Wii U and not be included in the PC edition.

In early July, the YouTube channel Unseen64, which has a track-record of uncovering cancelled Nintendo projects such as Mario Spikers, explained in a new video that Nintendo is "purposefully distancing themselves from the game."

Just a day later, Nintendo hinted that it was still supporting Devil's Third, while Itagaki described the report as "lies and rumours."

Early work on Devil's Third began as far back as 2008, and the project was first revealed two years later. Numerous unforeseen issues, such as problems with the game's engine, as well as the collapse of its former publisher THQ, has further delayed Valhalla's debut project.

Unseen64 now claims that "Nintendo of America has changed their minds amidst fan backlash."

It is rare for a publisher to pull support for a game so close to its release date.