Despite fans repeatedly asking the questions like “where is Koji Igarashi?” or “what happened to the metroidvania style games in the series?”, it seems that the series may never return to the 2D styles of old.

In an interview with U.K. games magazine Games™, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer David Cox answered one of those burning questions, although his answer is probably not what you were hoping for.

“I think those days are gone, yes. I think hardcore gamers would love to play another 2D Castlevania, but the reality is that it’s a very niche market and Konami really want this series to be mainstream again.

We took this direction in order to reach that bigger audience, otherwise we would have carried on with the 2D approach. That’s not to say I don’t think there will ever be another 2D game in the series, it might happen but just not from MercurySteam.

When you look at the future on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, I don’t think people want to play 2D games on those consoles. Core gamers may still want something like that, but there’s an expectation among the wider public for big, epic games.”

So there you have it. Apparently, the big whigs at Konami think that 2D metroidvania styled games in the series are “too niche” for mainstream markets, despite how beloved they are with fans.

Are you guys happy with his response – and with the potential for Castlevania to be built up into a big, bloated, mainstream franchise?