for Stander to blend in-game. Lodewijk composed most tracks in a single take, "[letting the music] go and sort of adjust[ing] it as it [went] along". He drew inspiration from Nine Inch Nails, as he and Stander were fans of their dark and industrial tone. Lodewijk did not set out to make dark music, but noted his tracks were often somber, even when he attempted to compose happy music. Kiley said he composed using the same monitors Richard "Disasterpeace" Vreeland used to compose Fez (2012), while Lodewijk used vintage synthesizers and drum machines such as the Akai MPC. While he did edit some tracks using his computer, Lodewijk described his process as "old-fashioned" and estimated 95% of his music was composed using vintage synths. Stander attempted to synchronize the music with the gameplay by having Zero turn on a Walkman at the beginning of each level, changing the music when Zero takes his earbuds out to talk to an NPC, and slowing down the music when the player uses Chronos. Release Katana Zero made its first public appearance at PAX West in Seattle in September 2015. Adult Swim Games obtained the publication rights, and a teaser trailer was released in December. The game was scheduled for a late 2016 release, but was delayed to 2017 and eventually to March 2019. Stander announced he had "amicably parted ways" with Adult Swim in December 2018, and revealed Devolver Digital had acquired the publication rights the following month. Devolver helped Stander localize the game, translating it to ten languages. Stander was impressed by Devolver's software testing process for catching bugs he did not notice. Katana Zero was released on April 18, 2019, as a downloadable game on GOG.com, Humble Bundle, Nintendo eShop, and Steam. The Switch version was temporarily banned in Australia after it was refused classification by the International Age Rating Coalition in April, due to its depiction of graphic violence and drug use. Devolver Digital resubmitted the game to the Australian Classification Board, which cleared it for a May release with an R18+ rating. Devolver released an Xbox One version on October 15, 2020, offered to Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and an Amazon Luna version on December 9, 2021. A PlayStation 4 version was rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board in March 2021, but has not been released as of September 2022. Sales Katana Zero was Devolver's most-preordered Switch game,