505 Games’ parent company Digital Bros has discontinued development of Armed Fantasia, the spiritual successor to Media.Vision’s Wild Arms series. The company made the statement in its financial results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, alongside cancellations of Directorate: Novitiate and a Battle Island sequel.
According to the document, the projects were discontinued following multiple gameplay revision attempts and a “thorough review of each product,” including their current development progress, potential markets, and required additional funding. Digital Bros reported a non-cash asset impairment of 18 .7 million Euros (roughly $ 21.3 million USD), including 17.6 million Euros in write-offs relating to the discontinued projects and 1 million Euros in impairment losses.
Developed by Wild Bunch Productions (which consists of several former Wild Arms devs, including longtime producer Akifumi Kaneko), Armed Fantasia is a Western-punk RPG set in the land of Londenium. Alongside a group of Pathfinders (i.e., adventurers), you explore the world, use character-specific Gadgets, and engage in turn-based combat.
Announced in 2022, the game was part of a joint Kickstarter campaign alongside Penny Blood, a spiritual successor to Shadow Hearts developed by Yukikaze, Shade, and Studio Wildrose, and helmed by series creator Matsuzo Machida. The campaign raised a total of 379,328,385 JPY ($2.4 million USD) from about 18,000 backers. While Penny Blood did not have a publisher as of 2025 (the Kickstarter campaign funds ran out by Autumn 2023, with Machida and artist Miyako Kato paying for the project using their own funds), 505 Games would later announce that it would be publishing Armed Fantasia.
Armed Fantasia was originally set to release in March 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, but has since been postponed indefinitely (even before Digital Bros decided to cancel it). Though the devs have been posting updates on the game’s official website to keep fans in the loop, they have been few and far between (a fact that Kaneko admitted to in the most recent March 2026 update). Additionally, the March 2026 update confirmed that a vertical slice, which includes the game’s main scenario, core gameplay systems, and various integrated elements, was sent to the publisher for approval. Kaneko also confirmed that the timing and scope of information the studio can share are heavily influenced by the publisher.
While Digital Bros has discontinued Armed Fantasia on their end, there hasn’t been any word from Wild Bunch Productions regarding whether it will cancel the project entirely or look for another source for funding.
