Wasn’t Fantasian Hironobu Sakaguchi’s last game? Has the veteran developer to whom we owe the Final Fantasy franchise changed his mind?

Back in 2021, the veteran game designer told VGC that he considered Fantasian to be his last full game, hinting that his studio Mistwalker would be responsible for two episodes after Fantasian’s release, and that there were no plans for a sequel after that. Sakaguchi considered Fantasian to be his last project, and he kept that in mind throughout its release.

But late last year, Sakaguchi confirmed that he was working on a new project, and in an interview with Famitsu earlier this week, he said that he was very much looking forward to being part of a team again. We don’t know what it is yet, but Mistwalker recently trademarked a new name (Fantasian: Dark Edge), so we can assume that the Japanese studio is working on it.

“I really made Fantasian thinking it could be my retirement project, but yes, I’m taking it back. We’re starting to talk about a new project… which means we’re making a new game. It’s almost the same team that worked on Fantasian, but I can’t tell you what we’re working on yet. One thing I can say is that making games is fun. It’s probably more of a pleasure than a job now. Maybe I’m getting older, but I’ve realized that it’s really nice to be part of a group of people. I’m looking forward to growing with everyone again. On a personal note, I’m expecting a grandchild soon. I hope to be able to incorporate what I feel at that time into the new game,” Sakaguchi said.

Previously an Apple Arcade exclusive, Fantasian Neo Dimension will be released later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. And after that comes Fantasian: Dark Edge, which will probably be next-gen, with PlayStation 6 and the new Xbox definitely coming around 2026-2027.

Source: VGC, Famitsu