Bit.Trip Runner 2 release date delayed until November

PSN and XBLA game Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2 has been pushed back to November this year, developer Gaijin Games has told Eurogamer.

It had been due "early 2012".

The delay means the HD semi-sequel now arrives on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network nearer the launch of the Wii U, due on shop shelves by the year's end.

And a Wii U version is "definitely something we're thinking about", Gaijin Games co-founder Mike Roush informed Eurogamer.

"My guess is we will always be with Nintendo," Roush reckoned, referencing past WiiWare and 3DS games. "Everyone at Gaijin Games is a Nintendo fanboy, so we will most likely continue that relationship in the future."

"We would never leave Nintendo, we love them to death."

Mike Roush, artist, Gaijin Games

A Wii U version would, in theory, look "similar" to the PSN and XBLA versions. "We'll make one game and cross-platform it to the best of our ability," Roush explained.

Development on Runner 2 is currently "a little over" a third complete. "We're close to half-way," Roush said.

"The original Bit.Trip series developed a game every three months," Roushed rushed on. "We really want to make Runner 2 the product it has to be. So we're going to be spending time playtesting it, making it just right."

Gaijin Games previously released Bit.Trip instalments on Nintendo platforms first. But that's not the case with Runner 2, because Roush and Gaijin wanted "to reach wider markets and expand our studio to where we can make any game for any platform".

"When we made these decisions we never knew about Wii U. So rather than us 'leaving Nintendo', it's that these decisions were made a year ago," Roush said. "We would never leave Nintendo, we love them to death."

Following the release of Runner 2, Roush joked that Gaijin may pursue a long-held dream of the studio, creating a blend of Bit.Trip and the original side-scrolling Metroid.

"We've been joking around for years about making 'BitTroid' - a mash-up of Bit.Trip and Metroid. We've never thought about it seriously but we talk about it often. It would be something we'd love to do. We'd need to get a sub-team focused on that and do it in the old Bit.Trip style."

New pre-alpha footage of Runner 2 can be found on Gaijin's Vimeo page.