As it turns out, Unicorn Overlord was in development for a lot longer than people probably realise. The gorgeous strategy RPG, which released just last month on PS5 and PS4, was first conceived by developer Vanillaware all the way back in 2016. What's more, it was originally planned as a PS4 and PS Vita release — but it sounds like things changed during development, and the studio settled on a much later, worldwide launch across multiple consoles, including Nintendo Switch.
This is according to Atlus veteran and Unicorn Overlord producer Akiyasu Yamamoto. In an interview with GamerBraves, Yamamoto reveals: "A short while after Odin Sphere Leifthrasir was released, Vanillaware gave us a pitch for Unicorn Overlord. The game was developed in parallel with 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim."
Of course, 13 Sentinels was also intended to be a PS Vita title — but that version was cancelled prior to release in 2019. In both Japan and the West, the visual novel was exclusive to PS4, before being ported to other platforms at a later date.
"When Atlus and Vanillaware began work on Unicorn Overlord in 2016, the game was only intended for the PS4 and PS Vita. However, the gaming industry has gone through some radical changes over the past 8 years, and as a result, Vanillaware was asked to give Unicorn Overlord a simultaneous worldwide release and expand its development," Yamamoto continues.
It ended up being a smart move. Unicorn Overlord could be Vanillaware's fastest selling game to date based on initial sales data, with it moving more than 500,000 copies during its first few weeks on the market.