Summary
- Level-5’s CEO has reiterated the company’s commitment to releasing three new titles next year.
- New Inazuma Eleven and Professor Layton games, along with Fantasy Life, have all been given 2025 windows.
- These games have all experienced some sort of delay or mystery behind them, though it appears they’ll all finally see the light of day.
Despite enough delays and mysteries to make one wonder whether any of its titles will ever see the light of day, Level-5’s CEO Akihiro Hino has reiterated the Japanese company’s plans to release three new titles coming next year.
In an interview with 4Gamer as part of a series of interviews with Japanese game creators centered around 2025 ambitions, Hino hoped that “2025 will be a ‘breakthrough’ year for Level-5” due to the planned releases. Hino added the following, as transcribed by Gematsu:
“Each title has been jam-packed with that ‘Level-5 flair,’ while also being developed with the aim of offering a completely new experience. I want to deliver games that will satisfy fans and make them say, ‘This is just what I’ve been waiting for.’”
Those three titles are: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam. His ambitions echo an October statement, where Hino reaffirmed a commitment to 2025, along with more transparency.
It’s Been A Rocky Road
Fans may recall that each of the three announced titles has had some sort of rocky path to release. For example, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was originally announced in a 2023 Nintendo Direct with a 2024 release.
Even as far back as 10 months ago, the game was positioned to come out in October. However, that was not the case. Nintendo eventually announced a delay of the title, pushing it back another year.
Elsewhere, Inazuma Eleven was originally unveiled as a tie-in game for the anime way back in 2017. Delay after delay, including a name switch to Victory Road, pushed the game all the way into 2025, some several years after its initial unveiling.
Compared to the other two, Professor Layton has had the smoothest path, albeit one that was noticeably very quiet, leaving some to forget about things.
In other words, if you’re a fan of Level-5 games, then it’s been a long journey to get to this point. Thankfully, that journey seems to be coming to a close, and barring any sort of last-minute delay, all three titles will finally see the light of day.
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