It’s not too often that you see a brand new Sega Mega Drive game (with cartridge!) in this day and age — even with the advent of Kickstarter projects. However, that is exactly what UK-based developer Bitmap Bureau is hoping to do with Xeno Crisis. And now, thanks to a new stretch goal milestone the games may be making it out to some current gen consoles as well — namely PC (via Steam) and the Nintendo Switch.
For those who haven’t heard of the Kickstarter campaign, Xeno Crisis is an old-school, co-op top-down shooting game that draws inspiration from 80’s and 90’s titles like Contra and Shock Troopers. But that isn’t where the 80’s inspiration ends, because originally the game was only planned to release physically for Sega Mega Drive, Sega Genesis, or digital versions for emulators. The developer, Bitmap Bureau, aren’t novices to developing given they have developed 88 Heroes as well as Ninja Showdown.
But the game has long since passed their original $27,000 goal, now hitting $77,910 (at the time of writing). And along with the influx of support, Bitmap Bureau has announced that the game may be coming to PC and Nintendo Switch, joining Sega Dreamcast. Yeah, you read that right: Sega Dreamcast. But the new update doesn’t end there — we also got a brand new video showing off gameplay and retro-inspired action.
Weirdly enough, though the Nintendo Switch and PC version isn’t officially reached yet, Bitmap Bureau has opened up backer tiers for anyone wanting to pre-order the version for PC or Switch. They seem confident they will hit the milestone, given there is no contingency plan for those backers if they do not reach the goal.
Xeno Crisis will be available to backers on October 2018 for emulators; meanwhile, those waiting for physical cartridges, the PC, or the Nintendo Switch version will need to wait until January 2019. Check out the new trailer below: