Due to concern over the poor sales of the recent "Castlevania" games, a number of prototypes in development competed to become the next "Castlevania" installment, which included a game by Igarashi and ' by MercurySteam in Spain. Konami told MercurySteam the game would be an original intellectual property (IP) when it was first greenlit as a "Castlevania" title. Konami eventually asked them to cease work on "Lords of Shadow" while it was still in its early stages, until producer David Cox showed the Japanese senior management the game and was offered help by video game designer Hideo Kojima. According to Igarashi, development on his project had not been going smoothly, and Konami had canceled it and chose "Lords of Shadow" as the pitch for the next "Castlevania" entry. Produced by Dave Cox and Hideo Kojima, "Lords of Shadow" was a multi-platform 3D action-adventure reboot of the series. Kojima offered his input on the project and also oversaw the game's localization in Japan. It was the first "Castlevania" to feature celebrity voice talent, starring Robert Carlyle in the lead role and also Patrick Stewart. The art style also departed from the previous games in favor of one inspired by Guillermo del Toro's work. "Lords of Shadow" was met with positive reception in 2010 and a commercial success, becoming the best selling "Castlevania" game to date. It was followed by two sequels, ' (2013) and "" (2014). "Lords of Shadow 2" was not as well received as its predecessor. Following its release, an anonymous source claiming to be employees from MercurySteam alleged that development on the game had been troubled.