Cuphead is one of the most successful independent games of recent years. While it was partially backed by Xbox Game Studios, developer and publisher Studio MDHR developed the game over seven years, combining 1930s 2D cel-animation with stages inspired by run-and-gun platformers such as Contra. Following Cuphead's release in 2017, a DLC expansion called The Delicious Last Course was announced at E3 2018. While this expansion was planned for 2019, it was later delayed to 2020, and now the DLC has been delayed again to 2021.
Studio MDHR announced the delay via Twitter today, with many fans already expecting the announcement following the studio's absence from major events including Microsoft's Xbox Game Showcase in July. The developer said, "In true Studio MDHR fashion, we aren't content for this final chapter to be anything less than our best work," citing the COVID-19 pandemic as impacting its development progress.
Given the method of hand-drawn animation used to bring Cuphead to life, as well as the lack updates from Studio MDHR throughout 2020, it comes as no shock that The Delicious Last Course has been delayed again. The good news is thanks to the release of a PlayStation 4 port this July, more players than ever will be able to experience the final DLC for Cuphead, especially as both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game are backwards compatible on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, respectively.
While the extra wait for The Delicious Last Course is bittersweet, given Studio MDHR has been open regarding the DLC being the end of its support for the game, there is still Cuphead content coming beyond the release of The Delicious Last Course; namely The Cuphead Show. The Cuphead animated series is in production at Netflix with Chad and Jared Moldenhauer attached as executive producers.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is planned for release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2021.