Cyberconnect2 Is Working on a New, Original RPG Series (Updated)

Update: Cyberconnect2‘s Hiroshi Matsuyama was not announcing a new RPG series but rather re-confirming the previously announced Senjou no Fuga (Fuga: Melodies of Steel), due for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. We regret the error. The original post is as below.

Cyberconnect2 announced that it is working on a new, original RPG series. In a brief, almost throwaway announcement made during the 2020 asobu Indie Showcase livestream, CEO and President Hiroshi Matsuyama teased the new title, which will be developed in parallel to their other projects.

The announcement included no screenshots, video, or details beyond its working title, Senjou no Kuuga (lit. “Kuuga of the Battlefield”). The reveal, such as it was, came as an example of what Cyberconnect2 is doing in the coming generation. Matsuyama noted in his spiel that the transition in console generations from PS4 to PS5 has brought another bump in technical capabilities that will affect the kinds of high-production-value titles Cyberconnect2 is best known for. Titles on the scale of the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series and the upcoming Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba game will likely require more time and people to produce. In his example, Matsuyama suggested such games might take one or two hundred staffers between three to four (or even five) years to bring to fruition.

That’s a long time to go, working on a single game, which is why Cyberconnect2 is debuting a new strategy. It will create “small target, small timeframe” titles, developed alongside the large-scale productions. Senjou no Kuuga is the first game under the company’s new strategy.

Check out his announcement on the asobu livestream, at about 75 minutes in (after the segment for My Exercise and before the trailer for Legend of Wright):

For larger developers, filling time with smaller projects is a common productivity strategy. Game development tends to proceed in stages, so not every specialized team needs to work on the same thing at all times. Thus working on something new is often a more useful approach deal than letting, say, a design or asset creation team stay idle (or worse, laying them off). Further, small “in-between” releases can keep up cash flow or lay the groundwork for new IP. That Cyberconnect2’s new project is original thus gives the company the clearance to reveal its existence at an event dedicated to indie games.

Senjou no Kuuga is in development, with no other information available besides its title. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot‘s latest DLC will add Golden Frieza and become available later this year.