The game was directed by Yusuke Miyata and produced by Yuji Nakao, with series creator Hideki Kamiya as supervising director.

The latter meanwhile, allows Bayonetta to directly fuse with a summoned Infernal Demon, granting her access to magic-based abilities, including new attack and traversal options.

[3] A new playable character, Viola, can only activate Witch Time through the use of a parry mechanic, and whose only Demon Slave Cheshire cannot be manually controlled.

This mode conceals displays of nudity during gameplay and cinematics, such as Bayonetta's various dances to summon her Wicked Weaves using her clothing as a conduit, as well as the more graphic designs of certain enemies and demons.

The two are assisted by Bayonetta's childhood friend and fellow Umbran witch Jeanne, the investigative reporter Luka, the information broker Enzo, and the demonic arms dealer Rodin.

Viola is tasked by her commanding officer Sigurd to use a world bridge to escape to another universe, and to seek help in the battle against Singularity.

Viola uses the world bridge and escapes as Sigurd is killed, arriving in a universe where Bayonetta and Jeanne witness the Homunculi launching their attack on New York City.

Jeanne is tasked with infiltrating a research facility to locate their universe's version of Sigurd, a doctor and scientist with knowledge about the multiverse.

Viola discovers that the deaths of his counterparts across the multiverse has caused Luka to transform into a wolf-like beast known as Strider, influenced by the rage of the Alphaverse's incarnation dubbed Dark Adam.

Upon their arrival, they discover that Singularity's real identity was the Alphaverse's Sigurd, an artificial human who sought absolute power over the multiverse.

[13] In June 2022, Hideki Kamiya reiterated his recommendation that newcomers play the preceding two games in preparation for Bayonetta 3, as despite there being "no reason why you won't be able to follow the story and enjoy it if you start with Bayonetta 3", he felt that prior experience with the series would help players find the third game "more interesting".

Miyata's involvement prompted speculation that a mechanic revolving around individually controlling Bayonetta's Infernal Demon summons in combat, was in fact derived from a previously cancelled PlatinumGames project, Scalebound, an action role-playing game published by Microsoft Studios intended to release for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows, as Miyata previously served as that game's lead designer.

[20] Fans additionally noted the resemblance between a new character masked in shadow during the end of the trailer, and Scalebound's intended playable protagonist, Drew.

[29][30] Hale stated on Twitter that while she was in a non-disclosure agreement, she expressed her belief that actors should be paid well, and emphasized her past advocacy for her peers within the profession.

[31] Hale's involvement drew responses from voice actors such as David Hayter and Steve Blum, who spoke in support of her industry work and due diligence.

Taylor called the report "an absolute lie, and a complete joke" made to "save [Platinum's] ass and the game", and said she wished to be done with the affair and the franchise.

[53] Some reviewers criticized the game's performance and technical issues, such as an inconsistent framerate, long loading times, and occasional low-quality textures.

[65] In the United Kingdom, Bayonetta 3 was the third best-selling game in its release week behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and FIFA 23.

[66] According to NPD in the United States, Bayonetta 3 was the second best-selling Nintendo Switch title in October 2022 under Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, as well as the ninth overall across all game platforms.