Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a 3D reimagining of Nihon Falcom’s flagship 2004 JRPG, released on September 19 this year. Following overwhelmingly positive reception and financial success both domestically and overseas, the studio is already preparing a remake of the second installment of the series, slated for a 2026 release. And it seems like the remake project will continue to unfold at a rather quick pace, because the developers are already planning their next remake. According to Nihon Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo, the team is currently divided between Trails in the Sky the 3rd and Trails from Zero. Regarding a potential remake of Trails of Cold Steel, Kondo says it would “be a rather difficult feat” at the moment.
In an interview with Dengeki Online, Kondo discussed Nihon Falcom’s next steps for the Trails series after launching the upcoming 2nd Chapter. When asked about whether Trails in the Sky the 3rd will be coming as a next remake after 2nd Chapter, Kondo explained that the development team is still deliberating. “We’re not sure whether to do the 3rd or from Zero next – opinions are divided among us. Some of the members are saying that it would be better to do a remake of from Zero before the 3rd,” Kondo said.
However, he does remark that releasing a remake of the 3rd before from Zero would be more logical continuity-wise. “Renne’s story is really important. Same goes for Kevin, and the name Crossbell appears for the first time in the 3rd. This is also where Erebonia’s Blood and Iron Chancellor Osborne makes his first appearance. […] I think we have to do a remake of the 3rd at some point, but there are many possible ideas for what form it could take.”
When asked about how Nihon Falcom would handle possible remakes of Trails of Cold Steel and Trails of Cold Steel II, Kondo explained that, due to how big the two games are, doing a remake doesn’t sound realistic at the moment. “When we were developing Cold Steel, we were told to just do whatever we liked, so we packed the game with so many different elements. I think remaking it would be a rather difficult feat. Merging I and II into one title would also be quite tricky to do given the sheer volume of the games.” Though Kondo didn’t outright deny that there would be a remake of Cold Steel, he said that, as of currently, Nihon Falcom is yet to decide whether they can take on the project in the future. So, even if it does get greenlit eventually, it is safe to say that a remake of Cold Steel will not be coming anytime soon.
Currently, Nihon Falcom is working on Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. In the meantime Trails Beyond the Horizon nears its global release in January 2026. The studio is also developing a brand-new Tokyo Xanadu series installment. While they do seem busy, if we take into consideration the extremely fast pace in which they develop their games, it might only be a matter of time before a new Trails series remake is announced.
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