Don't count on a new Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm game happening any time soon, as CyberConnect2 has confirmed that it plans to focus on its own IP over the next decade.
Earlier this month, CyberConnect2 confirmed that it was going to announce its next game to celebrate the developer's 30th anniversary. Considering CC2 has worked on a bunch of known IPs like Naruto, Dragon Ball, and Demon Slayer, that tease left the door wide open for any kind of anime adaptation.
I was personally praying for a new Ultimate Ninja Storm, but a third Demon Slayer or a Kakarot game based on Super would have had me smiling either way.
That made it quite a surprise, to me at least, when CC2 instead announced that its next game is a new entry in the .hack series, which is now being worked on independently by owned by the developer. It was clear that .hack was going to be a bigger focus for CC2 moving forward, but it now sounds like it might represent a shift away from licensed games altogether.
CyberConnect2 Is Focusing On Its Own Original IP For The Next Decade
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As pointed out by Twitter user ShonenGameZ, CyberConnect2 president Hiroshi Matsuyama recently had the chance to chat with Famitsu about the company's 30th anniversary and its plans for the future after the announcement of a new .hack game. Matsuyama says that CC2's goal for the next ten years can be summed up as "world domination through content".
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Matsuyama then points out that there's probably not a single person on Earth who doesn't know who Goku is, and that it was the "greatest dream" for the team to work on such a series. CC2's president says the team has mostly been involved in developing games for "wonderful IP" like Naruto and Dragon Ball, but that the plan is going to be a bit different from now on.
Moving forward, CyberConnect2 wants to "deliver a worldwide mega-hit with characters and works we create entirely from scratch", a goal that the team plans on focusing on "for the next decade". While Matsuyama doesn't outright say the team won't work on any more licensed projects in that time, it certainly sounds like it's moving away from its excellent anime games.
CyberConnect2 has become known for being one of the best of the best when it comes to anime adaptations, so it's quite a surprise to hear that it's moving away from its winning formula. Still, it's nice to see the developer so fired up and focused, so maybe a decade of mostly focusing on its own works is going to be a very good thing for it.
Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 68/100 Critics Rec: 35%
- Released
- November 17, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- CyberConnect2
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
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