Digital Bros and its publishing subsidiary 505 Games have discontinued development of Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness, a spiritual successor to Wild Arms being developed by former members of the series’ development team.
The decision was made following a review of the project’s prospects amid changing market conditions and the additional investment required to complete development. Digital Bros also confirmed that development was discontinued on Directorate: Novitiate and the sequel to the free-to-play game Battle Island after multiple attempts to revise their gameplay.
Armed Fantasia Development Discontinued
Armed Fantasia was being developed by Wild Bunch Productions under Wild Arms creator Akifumi Kaneko and original character designer Tomomi Sasaki. The project was originally funded through a 2022 double Kickstarter campaign alongside Penny Blood.
The game was designed as a return to the Westernpunk-inspired JRPG style of Wild Arms, with turn-based combat built around a Cross Order Tactics system. Long-time Wild Arms composers Michiko Naruke and Noriyasu Agematsu were also attached to the project.
Despite developer updates showing progress on completed vertical slice builds, the project has now been cancelled. Digital Bros cited the need for further gameplay revisions, changing market conditions and the additional investment required to bring Armed Fantasia to market.
Digital Bros reported a total of €18.7 million in non-cash asset impairment related to the decisions. This included €17.6 million in write-offs associated with discontinued projects, while a further €1 million came from impairment losses on other games whose expected future cash flows were assessed as being below their carrying value.
