Yusuke Tomizawa, the general producer for Bandai Namco Entertainment’s renowned Tales of JRPG franchise, recently engaged in a roundtable discussion with Persona series producer Kazuhisa Wada, as reported by Famitsu. In the conversation, Tomizawa addressed the current state and future prospects of the Tales franchise, specifically touching on the lengthy gap between new game releases.
Despite its rich history and enduring fanbase, Tomizawa highlighted a key challenge: dwindling chances for players to reconnect with older titles and their beloved characters, partly due to the absence of any Tales games with live-service elements to maintain player engagement. To counter this, Tomizawa has prioritized making past games accessible on contemporary platforms through the Tales Remastered Project, initiated in 2024. The overwhelmingly positive reception to these efforts—including the recently unveiled “Tales of Eternia Remastered”—has solidified the team’s commitment to continuing the initiative.
Tomizawa also emphasized that delivering a fresh installment that meets fan expectations is “absolutely essential” for the franchise’s vitality. “The development scale and other factors have significantly increased, and frankly, we’ve kept our audience waiting for an extended period,” he admitted. “Although we cannot disclose specific details at this time, we remain dedicated to the project while envisioning the series’ long-term future.”
The producer views the Tales series’ cornerstone as games and characters that players can “cherish for years,” and he is resolute in upholding that principle. While expressing regret for the delay, Tomizawa assured fans that he aims to keep the franchise competitive against other JRPG series, such as Persona, in a friendly rivalry.
Tales of Eternia Remastered is set to launch on October 16, 2026 across PC (Steam), PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and Xbox Series X❘S.