As many folks will know, Astral Chain was a joint effort by both PlatinumGames and Nintendo that would go on to shatter the million-sales milestone following its launch. The release was somewhat unique in that it was actually co-owned by both companies – although it looks like that may no longer be the case moving forward.

PlatinumGames has clarified that the Astral Chain is Nintendo’s IP – rather than re-iterating that the series is half-owned by PlatinumGames as it did one year ago. This follows after some observant fans noticed earlier this year that the game’s copyright notice had been updated on the company’s website – with PlatinumGames’ name as a co-holder of the copyright being quietly removed (see the comparison below).

Speaking to VGC, PlatinumGames head Atsushi Inaba confirmed that this was not exactly a mistake:

“It’s as it looks… It’s as it is written on the website: Astral Chain is their IP and as such there are limitations on how much we feel we should talk about.”

When probed for further clarification on this statement, a PlatinumGames spokesperson said that the studio was “not in a position to answer this question.”

We’ll just have to wait and see how this affects the direction of the IP in the future, if it does at all. Stay tuned.