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If you’re a PC gamer who loves tactical RPGs, tough luck. Unicorn Overlord is skipping you. Vanillaware, the developer behind Odin Sphere and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, has only developed for PC once in its 22-year history, and that was its first game way back in 2002. Obviously, devs aren’t obligated to release on any platform. Still, Vanillaware’s apparent reluctance to return to the PC market feels unusual. Over the years it’s collaborated with publishing giants like Square Enix, Nippon Ichi Software, and Atlus, all of whom have had great success on Steam. So why does it feel like the Unicorn Overlord devs actively avoid PC?
Vanillaware’s Development History
Unicorn Overlord spent 10 years in development, but you’ll only find it on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. There’s no straight answer as to why, but there are some intriguing clues. Let’s start with the disclaimers. Vanillaware is a relatively small studio, reportedly numbering less than 40 employees. Shipping any game, let alone one as beautiful as Unicorn Overlord, is a huge undertaking, and the more systems you port to, the greater the challenge. It wouldn’t be the first time a developer looked at the time and expense necessary to port its game to an additional platform and decided it couldn’t. Who could blame them?
Money is part of what makes the Vanillaware story so perplexing. The company reportedly ran out of funds during Unicorn Overlord‘s development, forcing it to cover its expenses out of pocket. Nor is this the first time: the same thing apparently happened with 13 Sentinels. Game development is almost always expensive, and when the dev timeline stretches for more than a decade, the costs add up. The success of games like Triangle Strategy on Steam proves that there’s a market for tactical RPGs on PC, and tapping into it would mean an additional revenue stream for a developer in-need. That’s assuming, of course, it was Atlus that assumed the brunt of the up-front costs instead of Vanillaware.
Unicorn Overlord and PC
In an interview with Destructoid, Atlus producer Akiyasu Yamamoto expressed an apparent desire to bring Unicorn Overlord to PC but stated that the publisher would not be doing so, per its agreement with Vanillaware. Since no one outside of those companies is privy to the details, it’s unclear if Atlus offered to assume the cost of PC development or not. If Atlus didn’t, it makes sense that an already cash-strapped Vanillaware would avoid a potentially expensive port. If Atlus did, Vanillaware’s stance of console-exclusivity makes less sense.
In 2001, Vanillaware founder George Kamitani began work on Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion, an online game led by Enix. Though the MMO would eventually become a commercial success with more than a million active players, its development was reportedly fraught with issues. Those ranged from logistical and tech problems to ones related to the merger of Enix and Square. Although it’s speculation, it’s possible that Fantasy Earth‘s development left such a poor taste in the dev team’s mouth that it’s avoided PC ever since. That’s not the most likely scenario, but it’s an interesting possibility.
The Argument for PC
Historically, the PC hasn’t had the same grip on the Japanese market that it has in the US. Still, companies like Capcom, Sega, and Square Enix have landed the jump. Hopefully, with time, Unicorn Overlord and other Vanillaware IPs will join them. The company makes compelling games that deserve a larger fanbase. Whatever reasons led to Vanillaware’s absence from the PC market, there’s a legion of players waiting for the day the dev’s striking art, scrumptious foods, and thoughtful battle mechanics arrive on their desktops.
Unicorn Overlord is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
