PS1-style stealth slasher Christmas Massacre won’t appear on Xbox or Nintendo Switch despite already being available on Steam and coming to PlayStation 5, its developer has said.
Developer Puppet Combo said in a series of posts on X/Twitter that “only PlayStation will allow it”, and followed up by saying Christmas Massacre is “too crazy” for both Switch and Xbox.
No, it’s too crazy for Switch
— PUPPET COMBO 🎃 (@PuppetCombo) November 3, 2023
Christmas Massacre is “an 80’s inspired stealth slasher game with low-poly, PS1-style graphics,” per its synopsis. “Sneak, stalk and murder your prey without being caught. You must kill without being seen to complete each level.” It bears resemblance to the controversial PlayStation 2 title Manhunt from Rockstar Games. A gameplay clip appears to show the player murdering a classroom full of children.
CHRISTMAS MASSACRE COMING TO PLAYSTATION
NOVEMBER 17th pic.twitter.com/yhYDVKPdhi
— PUPPET COMBO 🎃 (@PuppetCombo) November 3, 2023
Puppet Combo has released similar games on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch in the past, however, which all feature similar graphical styles and themes. Murder House, Nun Massacre, and Stay Out of the House are all currently available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, with the last of these arriving just a few months ago in June 2023. While Nintendo and Sony appear to have taken issue with Christmas Massacre, it seems Sony is happy to continue to release Puppet Combo’s games. Indeed, the PlayStation Access YouTube channel uploaded a 94-minute gameplay video of Stay Out of the House for Halloween.
Puppet Combo is upfront about the dark themes of its games, too, and if their names alone don’t signify their violent nature, their descriptions certainly do. “Hide from the killer nun at all costs,” reads the Nintendo eShop description of Nun Massacre. “She hungers for blood and you are the next course.”
Speaking to IGN, Puppet Combo manager Ben Cocuzza said the developer didn’t mean anything controversial with the posts on X/Twitter but wanted to inform fans that Christmas Massacre wouldn’t be available on certain consoles unlike previous releases.
“If we port a game to consoles, all three console versions of the game are worked on simultaneously,” Cocuzza said. “I haven’t made any statements with the intention to cause controversy, just to answer fans wondering if the game would come to their system.
“In the case of Xbox, the game was not accepted to the ID programme. Switch decided not to release the game. Xbox and Switch carry previous Puppet Combo games which makes this disappointing to many fans.”
Neither Microsoft or Nintendo have responded to IGN’s request for comment as of yet.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.