Level-5 seems to have been having issues with the development of the latest entry in the Inazuma Eleven series which is due for release on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and mobile. Inazuma Eleven Ares has now been pushed back a few times and today the company has said that it won’t be released until sometime after May 2019. Level-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino has explained some of the reasons for the various delays which have been written up by Gematsu:
- Initially, Level-5 was trying to develop Inazuma Eleven Ares alongside World Cup 2018. However, preparations took some time and development started later than planned.
- The goal was to release the game in July 2018, but there was an unintended miscalculation.
- The game has always been in development internally, but due to a lack of time it was decided to enlist the help of a third-party.
- However, even though the external development team that Level-5 enlisted did not have enough people to develop something on the scale of Inazuma Eleven, they accepted the task anyway.
- Level-5 tried to rebuild the game by adding a large number of its own staff to the project, but since the company realized that a good product could not be made with this development system, they teamed up with a new company and are working on it as a new project.
- They are working hard to create something good. It will take some more time and they ask people to wait a little bit more. With its current progress, it is very likely it will not release before May 2019. This is not 100 percent settled, as the schedule is still being worked out.
- People online have asked, “If it’s being delayed this much, then will Ares not include the Orion no Kokuin anime that’s currently running?” Well there is a good chance that Orion elements will be added. It is also possible that will be offered as downloadable content.
- As for whether Ares will still be the official title or not, that is something that Level-5 will also be considering.