The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth coming to consoles

The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen has announced that he's bringing his horror show roguelike to consoles via publisher Nicalis.

Rebirth will feature a second expansion that McMillen wanted to make for the Flash version, but couldn't, the developer noted in his post-mortem on Gamasutra. The console version will also have local co-op and new 16-bit graphics that will "still look and feel like the Flash version."

McMillen was initially hesitant to get back into console development after spending two years on Super Meat Boy. "I didn't want to deal with anything when it came to business," he wrote, but Nicalis agreed to handle that end of things, so the outspoken creator agreed.

Nicalis is mostly known for its work bringing the remake of Cave Story to the Wii, DS, and 3DS. It also ported Terry Cavanagh's retro platformer VVVVVV to the 3DS eShop earlier this year.

As for what platforms The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be on, it's not exactly clear. "It's still too early to tell for sure what consoles the game will end up on, but both Microsoft and Sony feel like it would be a perfect fit for their digital platforms, and we have a feeling the new look might soften up a few people at Nintendo for a possible Wii U/3DS eShop release," McMillen wrote. This would be a big change of heart after Nintendo initially rejected it, due to its controversial content.

As for mobile devices, McMillen stated, "I'm wary about how the game might control on iPad, but if they [Nicalis] can make it work, I'm all for it."

Elsewhere in the post-mortem, McMillen noted that The Binding of Isaac sold over one million copies on PC and Mac in its first year on Steam and a quarter of those who bought the game also purchased its expansion, The Wrath of the Lamb.