Bandai Namco Says It Is “Narrowing Down” Titles, Recently Canceled 5 Games

Bandai Namco announced it has canceled “at least” five titles as it looks to update its development structure to focus on fewer, more strategic game releases.

The news came as part of Bandai Namco latest financial results briefing, when it said it has taken a “loss on disposal” and canceled “at least five other titles under development.”

During a Q&A briefing (via Video Games Chronicle), a Bandai Namco representative stated that “Disposal of work-in-progress was decided in accordance with internal rules regarding evaluation, and the online games and other products subject to this disposal were also implemented in accordance with these rules.”

The representative said the title cancelations came as the publisher looks to change its development structure, narrow down the number of projects, emphasize quality, and focus on a handful of “strategic worldwide titles” as well as “casual titles for light users.” Which titles have been canceled, and whether or not they were previously announced, is currently unknown.

“In the future, we will build an optimal and well-balanced title portfolio, examine our development system carefully, and strengthen development with an emphasis on quality,” the Bandai Namco representative said.

Bandai Namco’s realigned focus on stricter standards and fewer, bigger games comes after the company’s digital division (which houses its video games business) reported a nearly 9% drop in sales for its third fiscal quarter ending in December compared to the same time last year, and a whopping 96.5% drop in income compared to the same period last year. The publisher stated Elden Ring is primarily responsible for the major change year-to-year, as Elden Ring sold more than 20 million copies within a year of its release–a huge success that has not been replicated by more recent Bandai Namco releases.

However, Bandai Namco did state that sales of Dragon Ball and One Piece games remain stable and that Armored Core 6 was “popular.” It also touted the success of the recently released Tekken 8, which has already sold 2 million copies. Looking ahead, the publisher noted that it is preparing to release Elden Ring’s first DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, as well as a new Dragon Ball game (assumed to be Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero) in the future.