Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate — Everything We Know

In the space of just a few short hours, crowdfunded project Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate has already reached its target of 2.8 million yen (that’s just short of $14,000, going by the current exchange rate), which means it’ll be going under the hammer a lot sooner than creator and writer Rika Suzuki probably would’ve expected. Not that this comes as much of a surprise, mind you, given Suzuki’s history in the gaming industry and what have you; Hotel Dusk: Room 215, and Trace Memories, to name just a couple.

So, with the budget in the bag and the full support of a global audience under its belt, what happens next? Or a better question would be, when are we likely to see the so-called Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate — and on which platforms? Well, here’s everything we’ve been able to pull together from the dev’s hands since first catching wind of it earlier this month. Let’s get straight down to it.

What Is Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate?

Let’s get right into it. What is Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate, and how will it aim to recapture and interpret some of the most controversial moments in world history? Well, going by the initial information dump, it will be an adventure-mystery type of game—a spin on real-life events, of sorts, that pertain to Hitler and his many, many heirlooms. According to the devs, players will act out a peculiar mystery that relates to one (or several) of Hitler’s long-forgotten trinkets. As for what this mystery is, though, is still anybody’s guess.

In the words of its creators: “The main character, a young man who lives with his eccentric father who is constantly looking for items related to Hitler, participates in a strange auction held in an old castle, and as he solves mysteries related to Hitler's heritage hidden in the participants and the items on sale, his father…This is a full-fledged mystery adventure game where you approach the big secret that has been hidden.” A few missing pieces there, for sure — but color us intrigued, either way.

Story

Just to echo, Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate will take place in 1981, 36 years after Hitler’s death, in an old and decrepit castle—a landmark that reportedly houses a network of Hitler’s heritage sites and heirlooms. As the son of a collector, you will enter said castle and work to unravel a set of mysteries pertaining to some of the controversial artifacts, using skill and intuition to knuckle in on clues and answers. And not only that, but a “secret” that your father has been hiding from you for as long as you can remember. Will the castle churn up the answers you’ve been seeking, or will it prove to be just another dead end?

Unfortunately, not a whole lot more is known about the actual story behind Dark Auction. It’s early days yet, though, so there’s a strong chance that we’ll see something a little more detailed over the coming weeks or months. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Gameplay

Again, we don’t actually know a great deal about the gameplay side of things, either. Having said that, we do know that it’ll be a mystery game at heart, so there’ll be plenty of dialogue, foraging for clues, and connecting dots to secure various solutions. This is all textbook stuff, so it’s highly likely that it’ll adhere to a similar pattern.

Development

Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate first popped up over on Campfire—a Japanese crowdfunding platform that helps fund independent projects—earlier this month. With a 2 million yen target and a 60-day plan spread out, the team behind it—Rika Suzuki and Kosuke, two manga and gaming titans—went on to source the funds in less than 24 hours. As for now, the campaign has just under 57 days left on the clock, and has already amassed just short of 3.6 million yen. Safe to say that it’ll be going ahead as planned at this point.

“I usually work alone in the completely different field of manga, so it was exciting to be involved with the people who create the game and design the characters in a variety of colors for the first time,” said character designer Kosuke during the Campfire debut. “Although I'm nervous about the new environment, I'm also very excited. We tried to design the characters to have a movie actor-like coolness and a manga-like loveliness that would allow players to become more immersed in the worldview created by Mr. Suzuki. I hope it becomes a work that will be loved by many people for a long time.”

Trailer

As it currently stands, there are no trailers of Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate, much less any in-game screenshots, for that matter. However, if something of the sort does pop up over the next several months, then it will surely be on the team’s official Campfire handle. You can check that out, along with all the other in-game details here.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

At the time of writing, Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate hasn’t received a release date. That said, its creators have gone as far as to say it’ll be shaping up for a launch across both Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. It will also be available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

On a side note, there hasn’t been any word on whether or not there’ll be a home console port. Does this mean there won’t be an Xbox or PlayStation version? It certainly seems that way. But again, who knows; perhaps it’ll find its way over to other platforms in the aftermath of its initial launch? Only time will tell on that one.

If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the project, then be sure to follow the Campfire campaign over on its official handle here. Alternatively, you can check in with the developer over on its social feed here. If anything major changes ahead of its launch, we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate when it eventually comes to consoles and PC? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.