Update (2025/4/14, 13:02 JST): Please note that this article is not about Super Robot Wars Y developer Bandai Namco Forge Digitals (previously B.B Studio).
Japanese game developer A,I filed for bankruptcy on March 10, 2025, as announced via Japan’s government gazette (source: Bankruptcy Information Center).
A,I was a mid-scale development studio with a long history, having done contract development for major publishers like Bandai Namco Entertainment and Hudson Soft since 1990. It was heavily involved in the Super Robot Wars series and responsible for bringing the IP to handheld Nintendo devices. A,I is credited as developer/co-developer on 14 Super Robot Wars titles and several Bomberman games, including 1998’s Bomberman Hero.
The studio’s last project seems to be 2018’s Full Metal Panic! Fight! Who Dares Wins – developed alongside B.B. Studio for Bandai Namco Entertainment. It’s not known what led to the company declaring bankruptcy, but the news has come as a shock to Japanese fans of the Super Robot Wars series. Given the recent announcement of B.B. Studio’s new title Super Robot Wars Y, many were optimistic that a new entry by A,I might not be far off either, but this hope has been quashed with news of the studio going bankrupt.
Game creator and former A,I employee Norio Okubo addressed the announcement on X, commenting, “This was where I spent more than half of my life as a game developer. Our main client Hudson disappeared first, and now our company itself is gone. I don’t normally drink, but I think I’ll drink in memory of A,E today.”
