{"id":68501,"date":"2026-06-20T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=68501"},"modified":"2026-06-19T18:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:23:56","slug":"level-5-ceo-says-modern-quality-demands-have-made-fast-game-development-like-back-in-the-day-extremely-difficult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/level-5-ceo-says-modern-quality-demands-have-made-fast-game-development-like-back-in-the-day-extremely-difficult\/","title":{"rendered":"Level-5\u00a0CEO says modern quality demands have made fast game development\u00a0like back in the day extremely difficult\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent interview with\u00a04Gamer<\/a>,\u00a0Level-5\u00a0CEO Akihiro Hino has reflected on how dramatically the game industry has changed\u00a0in the past decade, pointing to a time when the studio was releasing major titles\u00a0almost every\u00a0year across its hit franchises.\u00a0Talking to the outlet,\u00a0Hino discussed\u00a0the company\u2019s past,\u00a0and the pressures\u00a0of\u00a0modern game development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a time when we were releasing new titles\u00a0almost every\u00a0year. Not just Inazuma Eleven, but also\u00a0Yo-kai Watch. It was a dream-like period, or\u00a0perhaps\u00a0a hellish one (laughs),\u201d Hino said, noting how rising expectations for game quality and production standards have significantly affected dev cycles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver time, the way games are made and the level of quality required have changed, and before we knew it, we had ended up with the kind of slower pace we have now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve entered an era where games aren\u2019t accepted as commercial products unless their quality is high enough. I think every developer is finding this difficult,\u201d Hino explained. He also believes that, moving forward, the studio will need to find ways to shorten development periods more efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Level-5 is not\u00a0a stranger to\u00a0prolonged development cycles\u00a0and continuous delays, and\u00a0one big example of this is how it handled the\u00a0production of\u00a0its\u00a0latest major title,\u00a0Inazuma Eleven: Victory\u00a0Road.\u00a0\u00a0Originally announced in 2016 with\u00a0an initial\u00a0release window of 2018, the game\u2019s development cycle\u00a0suffered a\u00a0series\u00a0of delays<\/a>\u00a0and even a reboot under a different name\u00a0before finally launching in August 2025. Other major\u00a0Level-5\u00a0properties like\u00a0Fantasy Life\u00a0i: The Girl Who Steals Time\u00a0faced similar recurring pushbacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At least, the\u00a0wait for\u00a0Victory Road\u00a0paid off, with the game\u00a0selling\u00a0800,000 copies<\/a>\u00a0globally right out of the gate. Now,\u00a0Level-5\u00a0is looking to solidify the franchise’s revival\u00a0(something\u00a0Hino\u00a0wanted to do properly for a long time)\u00a0without forcing fans to wait another decade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hino considers the mobile title Inazuma Eleven Cross a necessary part of that revival plan, and explains releasing the game in 2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

was strategically important because football excitement peaks every four years (an apparent reference to the World Cup cycle). Apparently, the studio is planning to roll out version updates every 1-3 months, while adding regular features and major updates once every six months to establish a solid service in Japan before expanding overseas. Hino also mentioned that that this is not the end of the revival plan for the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, we have no intention of ending things with just Victory Road and Inazuma Eleven Cross. I think we\u2019ll be able to make another major announcement related to Inazuma Eleven within a year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:\u00a0Level-5 CEO says Megaton Musashi served as \u201cemotional rehab,\u201d helping the studio rediscover its development philosophy and make Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road work\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road sequel is in the works, Level-5 President Akihiro Hino confirms<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Level-5 game director and CEO Akihiro Hino talks about dev cycles inevitably growing longer in the modern game industry, making yearly releases difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":68503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-68501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nLevel-5\u00a0CEO says modern quality demands have made fast game development\u00a0like back in the day extremely difficult\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Level-5 game director and CEO Akihiro Hino talks about dev cycles inevitably growing longer in the modern game industry, making yearly releases difficult.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/level-5-ceo-says-modern-quality-demands-have-made-fast-game-development-like-back-in-the-day-extremely-difficult\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Level-5\u00a0CEO says modern quality demands have made fast game development\u00a0like back in the day extremely difficult\u00a0 - 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