Nintendo’s E3 2021 Direct broadcast came and went, and while it had a few big surprises like Metroid Dread and Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp, the long-awaited Bayonetta 3 was a no-show once again. Now, Nintendo says Bayonetta 3 still exists and it’s progressing well.

“It definitely still exists, I can confirm it,” said Nintendo Treehouse staff Nate Bilhdorff in a video interview with Gamespot.

Treehouse staff Bill Trinen followed this response up with “I will even go one further and say not only does it exist it’s progressing well.”

Trinen later added, “We have a habit where we like to show things when we’re ready to show them, and certainly we like to show things when the developers are ready to show them. We didn’t have it here at E3, but stay tuned.”

While Nintendo says Bayonetta 3 still exists and it’s progressing well, the game was announced in late 2017 during The Game Awards. We haven’t seen or heard anything new for the game since then, including no new gameplay since. In 2018, it was stated development was “going very, very well.”

Could Bayonetta 3 make a return at Tokyo Games Show, or even at this year’s The Game Awards? Only time will tell – however it remains clear that both developer Platinum Games and publisher Nintendo probably won’t show the game off again until it’s ready to lock in a release date.

We’ll keep you guys posted.