It looks like Kingdom Hearts and Chivalry 2 aren’t the only new IPs that the Epic Games Store will be obtaining as PC exclusive this year. Thomas Happ Games and Epic Games have announced that the highly anticipated Metroidvania title, Axiom Verge 2, will be coming to PC this year and it will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. The title was originally announced only for the Nintendo Switch with a 2020 release time frame. Unfortunately, due to the worldwide effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the studio had to delay the title to 2021.
The announcement came with a brand new trailer as well, albeit a very short one. It doesn’t reveal anything major that we already haven’t seen, but it does show off a bit of the outside world as well as a couple of new features that the player will be able to utilize. It’s important to note that Axiom Verge 2 is not a continuation of the first game that launched in 2015. Despite being billed as a sequel, the story and everything around it is brand new and has little to no connection to the previous entry.
While this is a bit disappointing for Steam fans to see yet another franchise get picked up by Epic Games for the PC platform, Thomas Happ mentions in his post that the game will “be coming your way eventually.” This is no major surprise as the majority of titles on the Epic Games Store usually have a timed exclusivity before they’re able to be released on Steam, or GOG for that matter. The standard timeframe for that exclusive lock is normally six months to one year, so it’s more than likely that we’ll see Axiom Verge 2 on other digital retailers for PC sometime in 2022.
The title is also still slated to launch for the Nintendo Switch, but it looks like Thomas Happ isn’t ruling out Sony or Microsoft’s platforms either. “I’ve been lucky that I’ve had great support from Sony and Microsoft over the years so I hope to be able to talk about my plans on those systems soon.” Considering that the first Axiom Verge was made readily available for all platforms roughly two years after its initial release, it makes sense for Happ to keep the line open with all parties for the sequel, and hopefully, we’ll find out a more concrete release date sooner than later.
Axiom Verge 2 will launch this year for the Nintendo Switch and PC through the Epic Games Store.