Dragon's Crown, the 2D brawler/RPG developed by Vanillaware, looked to be in trouble. Although the game was supposedly being published by Ignition Entertainment sometime in 2012, mega-retailer Amazon.com stopped taking pre-orders for the game and listed it as "Unavailable" on their site, even going so far as to email those who had already pre-ordered the game with refunds. With rumors and speculation running rampant online, publisher Ignition denied to comment on the situation. Usually, this would lead up to an inevitable announcement that the game in question had, in fact, been canceled. It is a sad truth in this industry that oftentimes, when a studio declines to comment on cancelation and closure rumors, those rumors are simply hitting a little too close to home (similar logic drove the recent Prey 2 cancellation rumors.)

Fans of brawlers and gorgeous artwork should consider themselves lucky, then, that Atlus has announced their acquisition of Dragon's Crown today. The niche publisher will fund the game through to completion, and even lend a hand with development where needed. The downside to this is that, according to Atlus, "the game simply cannot retail for $29.99" and will now release in 2013. That said, at least Dragon's Crown will see the light of day. If you need a reminder as to why you should be excited for this announcement, check out the game's E3 2011 trailer below. Stay tuned to GameShampoo for more on the situation as it develops.