Q-Games To Publish Beyond The Dark: Nightwatch For Switch 2 On October 22
Q-Games is a Kyoto developer known for its own PixelJunk titles, and publishing another studio's game in Asia is a business line the company does not normally run.
Key Facts
- Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch releases for Nintendo Switch 2 on October 22 at 2,480 yen including tax.
- Q-Games is publishing Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Japan and other Asian regions.
- Atlantis Studio, based in Avignon, France, developed Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Unreal Engine 5.
- Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch supports local play, local communication, online play, and GameShare for two players.
- Troy Baker is involved in Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch, with his role to be announced later.
Reporting from 4 sources: 4Gamer.net, Denfaminicogamer, Automaton, Game Spark.
Q-Games announced on October 16 that it will publish Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Japan and other Asian regions for Nintendo Switch 2. The game releases on October 22 at 2,480 yen including tax, with the Nintendo Store page going live the same day. Atlantis Studio, an indie team based in Avignon, France, developed the title. It is a two-player-only asymmetric co-op horror game. One player is the Explorer, moving through a claustrophobic mansion in first person, searching for clues and solving puzzles. The other is the Watcher, staying on the surveillance cameras and using tools and documents to guide the partner. Neither player holds all the information, and both must talk constantly to escape the entity called the Grome, which is drawn to loud noise. Multiplayer support covers local play, local communication, online play, and GameShare, which lets a second console, either a Switch 2 or a Switch, join with one copy.
Atlantis Studio co-founders Nico Augusto and Ru Weerasuriya lead the Avignon team. Nightwatch is the studio's first original title and runs on Unreal Engine 5.
Troy Baker, known for The Last of Us and Death Stranding, is in the cast, though the role is not yet announced. Oscar Araujo, who scored Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, composed the soundtrack.
Q-Games was founded in Kyoto in 2001 by Dylan Cuthbert, who worked on the original Star Fox and later led technology work at Sony and Nintendo. The studio's own catalog includes PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Nom Nom Galaxy, and Tomorrow Children Phoenix Edition, plus multiple Star Fox titles. It also handled research and development on sky and cloud rendering for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Q-Games started BitSummit in 2013, and Cuthbert is the event's representative director.
The game was announced overseas in June, and the Asian release followed on October 16 with a new trailer. Atlantis Studio describes 100-plus playtesters with zero escapes. The Nintendo Store page carries the title at 70010000138491.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- 4Gamer.net Switch2向け2人プレイ専用ホラーゲーム「Beyond the Dark:ナイトウォッチ」，10月22日に発売
- Denfaminicogamer 「探索者」と「監視役」に分かれる非対称型の2人協力ホラーゲーム『Beyond the Dark』が面白そう。Switch 2向けに10月22日より発売
- Automaton 「監視役と囚われ役」激ムズ協力2人プレイホラー『Beyond the Dark: ナイトウォッチ』10月22日配信へ。100人挑戦して脱出者なし、命がけの“報連相”ゲーム
- Game Spark 2人の連携が生死を分ける本格協力ホラー『Beyond the Dark:ナイトウォッチ』Q-Gamesによるパブリッシングが決定。スイッチ2向けに10月22日発売