Following its release in 2012,Lollipop Chainsawgarnered quite the cult following. The hyper-violent action game, featuring a cheerleading protagonist named Juliet Starling, was created by legendary developerSuda51andJames Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy and new co-CEO of DC Studios. While the game initially received middling reviews, scoring a70 on Metacritic, it sold well over one million copies and earned itself a remaster,Lollipop Chainsaw: RePop, which released late last year.
Unfortunately, RePop failed to meet fans' lofty expectations, with some going so far as to say it “Fails as a remaster in all aspects.” Critics felt the same, with the game landing ata ‘Weak’ 64 on OpenCriticand a68 on Metacritic.
Seemingly, this reception hasn’t deterred the owner of the IP, Dragami Games, from going all in, as it has just signed a new partnership agreement to “jointly develop several new projects related to Lollipop Chainsaw”.
The Lollipop Chainsaw Revival Is Happening In Spectacular Fashion
In a newannouncement, RePop creators Dragami Games revealed it would be teaming up with Taiwanese IP investment and development company,Nada Holdings, to expand the beloved IP.
The statement says, “Dragami Games will begin new IP development for Lollipop Chainsaw and will work with Nada Holdings to promote new diversified development and collaboration projects with other industries.
“Nada Holdings has a long track record of leading investment and development projects in anime and game IP, as well as high know-how and resources in cross-media development of IP. We believe that the company’s passion for IP will work constructively in the new development of Lollipop Chainsaw, and have formed a strong partnership.”
Dragami Games will begin new IP development for Lollipop Chainsaw.
Nada Holdings, which claims to be big fans of Lollipop Chainsaw, says it will “continue to cherish the spirit of the original and work hard to meet the expectations of our fans.”
Reading between the lines of the statement, it appears that Lollipop Chainsaw will be going cross-media, with both video game projects alongside anime or TV shows planned as part of this collaboration.
On its website, Nada Holdings lists Crunchroll, Netflix, Hulu, and Toei Animation as some of its partners, alongside the likes of Sega and DeNA, from the gaming industry. The company also boasts a five-time Emmy-nominated director and producer,Takafumi Yuki, as part of its staff. Yuki is known for his work on the Like a Dragon: Yakuza series on Amazon Prime Video and Tanabata no Kuni, among other projects.
While there was certainly some expectation, following the release and reception of Lollipop Chainsaw: RePop, that it would be the end of the IP, it appears that it’s anything but, with Dragami Games having big aspirations going forward.
