Nintendo confirm Bayonetta 3 release date following ratings leak

After a while in development, PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta 3 is drawing near after the game was found on the Nintendo website officially rated by the ESRB, and its release date was subsequently announced.

The Bayonetta franchise features relentless, classic hack ‘n’ slash gameplay, like God of War, as the titular Bayonetta cuts down wave after wave of demonic enemies using an array of slick and sexy moves.

Bayonetta 3 has been in development for quite some time now and there’s been constant doubts and concerns over the state of the game and its progress.

These fears have finally been put to bed as the game has not only been officially rated by the ESRB – the Entertainment Software Rating Board – but a new trailer has given the game’s release date.

Bayonetta 3 to release in 2022

The new “Bayonetta 3 – The witch returns this autumn!” trailer concluded with the seismic news that it will be available to buy from October 28, 2022.

There are always some telltale signs that a game is prepping for its release, these being a game going gold, and the title also officially being verified by age rating certification boards.

Assigning an official rating means you’ve had to determine a rating from a game’s content, but the contents would have to be finished first, or near enough.

An investigative Tweet from user The_Marmolade on July 12, 2022, saw that the ESRB had given Bayonetta 3 an official age rating.

They have given it an M for Mature citing the following reasons for this: Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, and Strong Language.

Bayonetta 3 has been rated M by ESRB according to Nintendo offical website. This can indicate the game isnt far from release. pic.twitter.com/r4zwf4NMXV

— The_Marmolade (@the_marmolade) July 12, 2022

Anyone who’s played either of the first two games won’t be surprised by this rating as Bayonetta has always gone to the next level with its adult themes.

Then on July 13, 2022, we got the long-awaited announcement of the game’s release via a new trailer – which you can check out below.

With a lack of AAA star power for Nintendo, such as Breath of the Wild 2, as we enter into the second half of 2022, Bayonetta 3 could wind up being one of the Nintendo Switch’s biggest titles – especially as the game is a Nintendo Switch-exclusive.