Wild Arms spiritual successor canceled: Armed Fantasia shut down after several years of development

Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness, a project in the spirit of Wild Arms, has been canceled after several years of development and a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Digital Bros, owner of 505 Games, announced the cessation of work on the project. The game was announced in 2022 alongside Penny Blood as part of a joint crowdfunding campaign. Armed Fantasia was being developed by a team created by the original Wild Arms creators, and the game itself was supposed to offer turn-based battles and a huge world in a 'westernpunk' style.

In March of this year, lead designer Akifumi Kaneko announced the completion of a vertical slice and the transfer of the project to the publisher. Later, the fate of the game became uncertain.

Digital Bros also closed Directorate: Novitiate and the Battle Island sequel. The company explained the decisions by changes in the market and additional costs for completing the projects, writing off assets worth €18.7 million, of which €17.6 million accounted for the canceled games.

The fate of the Armed Fantasia team is currently unknown. The developers also did not announce whether they would seek a new publisher.