The silence is loud. If you’ve spent any time in the JRPG community lately, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We are currently sitting in one of the longest droughts in the history of the Tales of series. Tales of Arise dropped back in 2021. It was a massive hit. It sold over three million copies. It won Best RPG at The Game Awards. And since then? Basically nothing but a mobile game shutdown and a DLC expansion that felt more like a victory lap than a new direction. People are getting restless. We want to know what the next Tales of game actually looks like, but Bandai Namco is playing their cards incredibly close to the vest.
Honestly, it’s a weird time to be a fan. Usually, this series is like clockwork. You get a release, a spin-off, and a teaser for the next big thing within a couple of years. But the transition from the "classic" era into this high-fidelity, Unreal Engine 4 (and likely now Unreal Engine 5) era has changed the math. The stakes are higher now. You can't just churn out assets when the audience expects the level of polish found in Arise.
The Arise Hangover and the Identity Crisis
Tales of Arise changed everything. For years, the series felt stuck in the PS3 era, even when it was on the PS4. Tales of Berseria had an incredible story—arguably one of the best in the franchise—but it looked dated the day it launched. When Arise showed up with its "Atmospheric Shader" and fluid combat, it brought in a whole new crowd. But it also created a rift.
Some long-time fans felt the game lost its soul. They missed the goofy victory skits that played on a separate screen. They missed the complex "Arte Tuning" systems. The next Tales of game has a massive job: it has to keep the high-end production values that brought in the mainstream while somehow recapturing the "weirdness" that made games like Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Vesperia so beloved.
Yusuke Tomizawa, the series producer, has been vocal about this struggle. In various interviews with Famitsu, he’s hinted that the team is focused on "re-examining" what the series means in a modern market. That's developer-speak for "we're trying not to mess this up." They know they can't just make Arise 2. Well, they could, but it wouldn't satisfy the core. The next entry needs to be a flagship that defines the next decade.
What We Actually Know (The Hard Facts)
Let's look at the breadcrumbs because there aren't many. We know that Bandai Namco trademarked Tales of Keptos and Tales of New World a while back, but those could be anything—mobile titles, trademarks meant to protect ideas, or discarded projects. Don't put too much stock in leaked names.
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What is more concrete is the internal shift at Bandai Namco Studios. They’ve been hiring for "high-end RPG development" consistently for the past two years. More importantly, they’ve been moving away from their proprietary engines in favor of Unreal Engine 5. This is a big deal. If the next Tales of game is being built on UE5, the jump in lighting and environmental detail will be staggering. It also explains why it's taking so long. Porting the "feel" of Tales combat—which is frame-data heavy and relies on specific physics—into a new engine is a nightmare.
The Combat Evolution
Combat is the heartbeat of this franchise. If the combat is bad, the game is a chore. We went from the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS) to the more free-form stuff in Arise. Most people liked the "Boost Strike" system, but it did get a bit repetitive by the 60-hour mark.
I suspect the next Tales of game will lean harder into aerial combat and seamless transitions. Look at what Scarlet Nexus did—also a Bandai Namco joint. It was fast, psychic-heavy, and incredibly stylish. While the Tales team is separate, there is always cross-pollination. I’d bet money we see a return to more elemental complexity. Arise simplified things a bit too much for the hardcore crowd. We need those deep, menu-diving systems back. It’s what makes the series "crunchy."
Why the Delay is Actually a Good Sign
I know, waiting sucks. But think back to Tales of Zestiria. That game was rushed to meet an anniversary deadline, and it showed. The camera was a disaster in narrow hallways, the story felt unfinished, and the "Armatization" mechanic broke the game's balance. It nearly killed the momentum of the series in the West.
Bandai Namco seems to have learned. They gave the Arise team extra time to polish the visuals, and it paid off. By taking four or five years for the next Tales of game, they are signaling that this isn't a "B-tier" project anymore. They want to compete with Final Fantasy. They want to be the JRPG that everyone talks about, not just the niche one with the anime tropes.
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The Port Problem
While we wait for the "Next Tales," we have to talk about the legacy. Fans have been screaming for a Tales of the Abyss remaster or a Tales of Destiny Director's Cut localization. Instead, we got Tales of Symphonia Remastered, which... let's be honest, was a technical mess at launch.
The fact that they haven't announced more remasters suggests that the bulk of the "Tales Studio" staff is "all-in" on the new project. You don't ignore easy money from ports unless you're buried in work on the next big thing. That gives me hope. It means the scale of the upcoming title is likely massive.
Art Direction: Beyond the Atmospheric Shader
The look of the next game is a huge point of contention. Arise looked like a watercolor painting come to life. It was gorgeous. But some fans felt it was too "realistic" in its environments. The charm of Tales often lies in its vibrant, almost Saturday-morning-cartoon aesthetic.
I’m curious if they’ll stick with the Arise look or pivot. If they go too realistic, they risk losing the "Tales" identity. If they go too cell-shaded, they might lose the casual audience they just won over. It’s a tightrope. Expect the next Tales of game to feature even more expressive facial animations—that’s been a major hiring focus for them lately. They want the drama to land, and you can’t do that with the stiff "doll faces" of the PS3 era.
The Narrative Shift
Traditionally, Tales games start with a simple premise—"boy meets girl, world is ending"—and then flip it on its head. Berseria made you the villain (sort of). Abyss made you a spoiled brat who commits a war crime.
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The next Tales of game needs a hook that isn't just "rebels vs. empire." We've seen that a million times. Given the current global climate, I wouldn't be surprised if the story tackles more complex themes of resource scarcity or digital identity. The series has always been surprisingly political under its sugary surface.
What You Should Do While Waiting
Don't just stare at the calendar. There’s a lot of "Tales-adjacent" content out there that captures the same energy. If you haven't played Star Ocean: The Divine Force, give it a shot. The combat is actually very close to what Tales used to be. Or, if you want something more modern, Granblue Fantasy: Relink is basically a high-budget Tales game in everything but name.
- Revisit the Classics Properly: If you’ve only played Arise, go back and play Vesperia: Definitive Edition. It’s often on sale for under ten bucks. It’ll show you why people are so protective of the series' roots.
- Watch the Official "Tales of" YouTube Channel: They’ve been posting more "legacy" content lately. It's often a precursor to an announcement. They like to build "brand sentiment" before dropping a trailer.
- Keep an Eye on Summer Game Fest: Bandai Namco loves these big stages. If we don't see a teaser by then, the game is likely a 2026 or 2027 title.
- Check out the Beyond the Dawn DLC: If you skipped it because of the mixed reviews, maybe reconsider. It doesn't move the needle much on the story, but it shows where the team’s head is at regarding dungeon design and character interactions.
The Path Forward
The next Tales of game isn't just another entry in a long-running franchise. It’s the "make or break" moment for the series’ new identity. Bandai Namco knows they have a hit on their hands if they can blend the technical prowess of Arise with the heart and soul of the older games.
Stop checking for leaks every day. Most of them are fake. Instead, look at the patterns. The company is consolidating. They are focusing on quality over quantity. That is always a win for the players in the long run. We are moving toward a version of the Tales series that can stand toe-to-toe with any RPG in the world.
The wait is long, yeah. But if the result is a game that defines a generation like Symphonia did back on the GameCube, it’ll be worth every second of silence. Keep your eyes on the official channels and ignore the "leaker" accounts on X (formerly Twitter) that claim to know the release date every other week. They don't. Only a handful of people in Tokyo do, and they aren't talking—yet.
Start clearing your backlog now. When the next Tales finally drops, it’s going to be a 100-hour journey that demands your full attention. You’ll want to be ready.