Witch on the Holy Night

Overview

Witch on the Holy Night (Mahoutsukai no Yoru) is a visual novel developed by Type-Moon that was released for the PC in Japan on April 12, 2012. Witch on the Holy Night was the first all-ages title developed by Type-Moon and the first to feature Koyama Hirokazu as the game's lead artist instead of co-founder Takashi Takeuchi. Aniplex later published PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of Witch on the Holy Night on December 8, 2022 that featured high-definition graphics and fully voiced dialogue. These ports also contained English and Chinese translations which lead to these versions being released simultaneously outside of Japan as digital-only titles. Limited Edition physical versions of the English release were also published the next year in January 2023.

Development

Witch on the Holy Night started life as a novel written by Type-Moon co-founder Kinoko Nasu in 1996. The novel was the first book that Kinoko Nasu had ever written and was only shared with his friends and family. However, after the the incredible success of the Tsukihime and Fate/stay night franchises, Type-Moon decided to adapt Kinoko's book into a visual novel. Witch on the Holy Night was announced in April of 2008 with a 2009 release date however the project soon became infamous for being delayed multiple times and remained in development for more than four years. The first delay postponed the game's release to September 2010, a second delay to September 2011, and finally a third delay to a definite release date of April 2012.