Digital Bros, the parent company of 505 Games, has halted development on Armed Fantasia, a spiritual successor to Media.Vision’s Wild Arms franchise. The decision was detailed in the company’s financial report for the fiscal year concluding June 30, 2026, alongside the scrapping of Directorate: Novitiate and a follow-up to Battle Island.
The report states that the projects were axed after numerous gameplay tweaks and a comprehensive evaluation of each title, covering development status, market viability, and necessary additional funding. Digital Bros disclosed a non-cash asset impairment of 18.7 million Euros (approximately $21.3 million USD), with 17.6 million Euros attributed to write-offs for the discontinued projects and 1 million Euros in impairment losses.
Crafted by Wild Bunch Productions—a team featuring several ex-Wild Arms developers, including veteran producer Akifumi Kaneko—Armed Fantasia is a Western-punk RPG set in the realm of Londenium. Players join a band of Pathfinders (adventurers) to traverse the world, utilize character-specific Gadgets, and partake in turn-based battles.
Unveiled in 2022, the game was part of a dual Kickstarter initiative alongside Penny Blood, a spiritual successor to Shadow Hearts helmed by series creator Matsuzo Machida and developed by Yukikaze, Shade, and Studio Wildrose. The campaign garnered 379,328,385 JPY ($2.4 million USD) from roughly 18,000 supporters. Although Penny Blood remained without a publisher as of 2025 (the Kickstarter funds expired by Autumn 2023, with Machida and artist Miyako Kato funding the project personally), 505 Games later confirmed its intent to publish Armed Fantasia.
Armed Fantasia was initially slated for a March 2025 launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, but has since been indefinitely delayed (even prior to Digital Bros’ cancellation). While the development team has shared sporadic updates on the game’s official site, these have been infrequent (a point Kaneko acknowledged in the latest March 2026 update). The update also revealed that a vertical slice, encompassing the main narrative, core gameplay, and integrated features, was submitted to the publisher for review. Kaneko noted that the studio’s ability to share details is largely dictated by the publisher.
Although Digital Bros has ceased work on Armed Fantasia, Wild Bunch Productions has yet to announce whether the project will be fully canceled or seek alternative funding.