In a 2020 interview with SiliconEra, series co-creator Matt Bozon described the development and distribution of each entry in the series as reflective of various changes in the video game industry and its treatment of smaller developers.

The eponymous first title was pitched for multiple platforms, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, PlayStation, and PC before eventually landing on the Game Boy Color due to the industry relying on deals with big-name distributors; Bozon stated that "If retail and distribution deals had come together more quickly for SNES, PSX, or PC, Shantae would have launched there."

Nintendo's establishment of WiiWare and DSiWare allowed WayForward to more readily develop a follow-up in the form of Shantae: Risky’s Revenge thanks to the digital distribution model making it less expensive to develop and release a smaller-scale title for systems that were otherwise demanding increasingly complex games. Later, The Nintendo 3DS' "split delivery system" that allowed digital-only games to be released at retail prices was a boon to the making of Shantae and the Pirate's Curse.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and Shantae and the Seven Sirens meanwhile benefitted from the greater prioritization of digitally distributed games on home consoles by the start of the 2020s, with the rise of premium physical media imprints such as Limited Run Games further helping offset costs.

In a November 2009 preview from the magazine Nintendo Power, it was announced that the game would be split into three episodes. However, by the time the game received a release date in 2010, these plans were scaled back to a single full release.