This year has been a big one forBandai Namco Entertainment, with the release of new titles likeDragon Ball Z: KakarotandTwin Mirror, along withnew DLC coming toDragon Ball FighterZandJump Force. So, it isn’t a surprise to see Katsuhiro Harada, best known for his work on theTekkenseries, announcing that production has started on a brand new game.
Harada didn’t mention what series the game would be a part of, or if this will be a new IP thatBandai Namcois beginning to invest in, though it doesn’t seem like it will be the nextTekkentitle or even another fighting game. However, Harada did inform viewers that this next title might be the “most costly development project in Bandai Namco history,” which seems to be promising an impressive payoff in the future.
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The announcement came as a part of thePiro Live! New Year’s Eve Special 2021that streamed live on December 31st, in which Harada made an appearance to speak on the past year and look forward towards the future. This is when Harada mentioned the new development project, claiming that it has recently been approved, though he seems surprised to have seen it get the green light at the level it has. According to Harada, it doesn’t look like this next game will be a fighting game, which most associate the director with, though this still leaves the genre up in the air, fromaction-adventure titles likeCode Veinto cinematic horror likeLittle Hope.
What stands out the most among fans is the idea of wha Harada might mean by referring to the project as the most costly game developed by Bandai Namco. Considering the prevalence of Bandai Namco as a game producer as well as developer, throwing tons of money at a project is nothing new for the company, so a high cost relative to other titles could be massive. Exactly what this means is still all speculation, but the company and Harada taking a new direction from thefighter titles likeJump Force, which make up most of the developer’s catalog, could be a risky payoff.
For any fans looking for more information on the game, it might be some time before any new information comes out. Seeing that the project only recently received approval, Bandai Namco likely won’t be demonstrating any progress to the public for some time, possibly even years from now. However, this does mean that fans of the developer’s style andprevious games, likeDragon Ball FighterZ, might be getting one of the best polished and developed titles in a long time.
