The highly-anticipated VR remake of Sega’s high-flying rail-shooter could be in jeopardy.
This past March, developer Wildman unveiled Panzer Dragoon Voyage Record, an upcoming VR remake of the original three Panzer Dragoon games. In this “VR dramatic shooter,” players can take the reigns of their very own dragon and navigate a series of airborne challenges while blasting enemies using their motion controllers. As previously mentioned,Voyage Record will have players revisiting chapters from past Panzer Dragoon games, including Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei, and Panzer Dragoon Saga. That is if it ever releases…
This week the official Panzer Dragoon Voyage Record Twitter account posted a tweet stating that the game had been canceled as a result of the death of Wildman Inc. CEO Haruto Watanabe.First reported by Video Game Chronicles, the tweet—which has since been taken down—stated, “Panzer Dragoon Voyage Record has been canceled due to the cancellation of the contract by Sega and the death of the producer, Haruto Watanabe, CEO of Wildman Inc. Thank you for your support.”
Shortly after the post went live, concerned friends and family reached out to Watanabe and quickly confirmed his safety. The aforementioned tweet was removed shortly thereafter. No details surrounding the false death report have been provided so far. However, one person close to Watanabe stated, “We’ve just received confirmation of the safety of our friend and colleague. More information will be tweeted by him as soon as he is settled.”
Until then the current state ofPanzer Dragoon Voyage Record remains a mystery. The game was originally scheduled to launch in March 2021 on unspecified VR headsets. Here’s hoping there’s still time for a potential 2021 release. Though, at this point, I’d be grateful for an official launch period.
Feature Image Credit: Wildman Inc.
