In an interview with 4Gamer, Level-5 head Akihiro Hino recalled a period when Level-5 regularly released new installments of Inazuma Eleven and Yo-kai Watch. Over time, development approaches and audience expectations changed.
The ways games are created and the quality requirements have changed, and before we knew it, we arrived at the current slower pace.
Hino added that today, it's difficult to sell games without a high level of execution.
We have entered an era where games are not accepted as a commercial product if their quality is not high enough. I think every developer faces this problem.
As an example, he cited Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, announced back in 2016. After a series of delays and a project reboot, the game was only released in August 2025, but the launch was successful — sales exceeded 800,000 copies.
Hino also confirmed that Level-5 plans to make another major announcement related to the Inazuma Eleven franchise within the next year.