Developer of the Ys and Trails series, Falcom, is set to launch 4 to 5 titles per year, and it currently has 7 games in development.
Based on the business plan from Ys and Trails developer Falcom (via AV9G), it is looking to expand the number of games it releases each year to 4 to 5 titles. The studio is also looking into the creation of new IP. Prior to the revised business strategy, the developer had been releasing 2 to 3 titles per year., excluding low-priced versions of existing titles.
The studio is aiming to achieve further growth by increasing the number of game/titles released and creating new IP content-games that will be a source of revenue. Given that game development is a long-term process, the company aims to move to the 4 to 5 titles per year business model within the next 2 to 4 years.
The final numbered entry in Falcom’s Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan in September 2018 and worldwide in October 2020, with ports for Nintendo Switch, Windows and Stadia released in April 2021. A sequel, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, was released in 2020.
The gameplay of Trails of Cold Steel IV is similar to previous Trails games, being a turn-based Japanese role-playing video game. The gameplay is based on Trails of Cold Steel III, and many features have been carried over. Modifications to the Order and Break systems are among the numerous changes made in comparison to the earlier Trails of Cold Steel games. Some characters have been given weaker Orders that can be strengthened by discovering treasure chests that open up usable “trial” battles with fixed characters. Blackjack, poker, and other puzzle games are available as mini-games.
The game is set two weeks after the conclusion of Trails of Cold Steel III. The Erebonian Empire has been taken over by Chancellor Giliath Osborne, who plans to declare war on Erebonia’s neighbour, the Calvard Republic. When Rean Schwarzer was captured by Osborne following the conclusion of the previous game, Class VII fled to Eryn, a covert village of witches, where they devised a plan to free him. They discover during their rescue mission that the seventh and last Divine Knight, El-Prado, has been awakened by Rufus Albarea, the imperial governor of Crossbell and the main Ironblood of Osborne.
