Update [Thu 31st Oct, 2024 17:00 GMT]: Earlier today, ININ Games finally announced a Western release date for Irem Collection Volume 2, stating that it will be released on November 14th across PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox.
The news comes a couple of months after its partner Tozai Games revealed a Japanese release scheduled for November 28th, and more than half a year after the second volume was delayed due to issues with the first game. You can watch the debut trailer below containing a closer look at GunForce, GunForce II, and Air Dual — the three games included as part of the collection.
Original Article [Thu 29th Aug, 2024 10:30 BST]: Tozai Games has announced that Irem Collection Volume 2 will be released in Japan for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch on November 28th (as reported by 4Gamer).
The collection, which includes GunForce, GunForce II, and Air Dual, will be available to purchase digitally for 3,520, with standard and deluxe physical versions available for PS5 and Nintendo Switch for ¥4,400 and ¥9350. As of writing, ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games — the title's western distributors — have yet to release their own updates on the status of their releases. We've reached out to them both for comment and will amend the article if we hear back.
It's safe to say the rollout of these Irem Collection titles has been a bit of a mess. When the first game was released digitally late last year, it was subject to various issues at launch, which "postponed" the release of the second volume while the company worked on a patch. Despite that, Tozai Games and ININ Games has already revealed what titles will be in Irem Collection Volume. 3, with fans doubly unsure on when they'll be able to get their hands on those games.
Throughout all of this, Strictly Limited Games has also been accepting pre-orders for physical editions of all three volumes, as well as two further volumes (that are as yet unannounced) but has so far only managed to ship the PS4 versions of the first volume, with the Switch & PS5 currently of that collection still "being scheduled".
If you were one of those unfortunate people to order the volume 1-5 box set sight unseen, we have to imagine you're probably feeling pretty fed up at this point with the lack of information, and honestly, we can't exactly blame you.
We'll do our utmost to chase more information about these releases. For now, if you have received your PS4 version of Irem Collection Vol.1, please let us know in the comments!