Arc System Works has announced a bunch of new games, as the lead developer behind Guilty Gear gets frank about the gaming landscape.
Developer Arc System Works is primarily known for fighting games like Guilty Gear Strive, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Granblue Fantasy Versus, but the studio has dabbled in other genres over its history.
In a special showcase this week, the studio announced several new projects beyond its usual fighting game remit – with no mention of its upcoming partnership with Sony on Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
The first surprise was a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive entitled Dear Me, I Was. It’s directed by Maho Taguchi, who described the game as being a ‘textless adventure game’, which she says is ‘designed for adult women’.
Taisuke Kanasaki serves as the game’s art director and he’s best known for directing the Hotel Dusk games on the Nintendo DS. Dear Me, I Was has a similar visual style and uses rotoscoping to create its hand-drawn watercolour visuals, whereby live-action footage is traced over and embellished.
A synopsis reads: ‘In this story, you will relive the life of a certain woman. Experience joy, sorrow, and growth through her oridinary and humble life. Witness the story she weaves in a life interconnected with others.’
As shown in the trailer, it seems drawing will be a key gameplay mechanictoo. Dear Me, I Was is slated to launch in summer 2025 on Nintendo Switch 2.
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The other big surprise was a new action game called Damon And Baby, which was described as being part of a ‘new pillar’ for Arc System Works, to help them diversify outside of fighting games.
Based on the trailer, Damon And Baby looks somewhere between a top-down Zelda game and an old school role-player, with a vibrant anime art style. No release date or platforms were announced.
Speaking in the showcase about the project, Guilty Gear creator and Arc System Works chief creative officer, Daisuke Ishiwatari explained how Damon And Baby represents a new ethos for the studio, as it becomes more difficult for gaming companies to create new IP.
‘The game market is tough now,’ Ishiwatari said. ‘To overcome that Arc System Works has launched a new project. It’s an action game project… Let me explain. Arc System Works is a fighting game company. I’m sure most of you recognise us as so.
‘However, to achieve a new brand, where we are known for quality mid-range action games, we decided to establish a new pillar outside of fighting games.
‘You might be wondering why I specifically use the term mid-range. There are many reasons, but one is that even creators themselves can enjoy striving for their dreams. In recent years, with AAA blockbusters and excellent indie titles gaining popularity, it has become extremely risky for companies to create new series.
‘This has led to dwindling opportunities for young creators to have their own projects. We feel the need to focus our efforts towards the future a decade from now, such as to build stable development schemes and to accumulate technology and know-how.’
He goes onto describe how Guilty Gear, like Damon And Baby, had humble origins, adding: ‘Our flagship title Guilty Gear has now become a million selling copy work – but its very first instalment was a small-scale project. From there, over many long years, we built a foundation that could guarantee a certain level of quality in the fighting games genre.
‘Similarly we hope to take a step with this project that will eventually lead to bigger dreams. And precisely because they are mid-range titles, this will create many opportunities to produce many titles and cultivate many creators, and we hope that will become one of the future values of Arc System Works.’
It’s a surprisingly honest overview of the current gaming climate, especially considering he was saying this during a promotional showcase – and an approach many Western developers would be wise to take inspiration from.
Elsewhere in the presentation, several titles published by Arc System Works were also revealed. These included a new Bubble Bobble game, entitled Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons, where the main gimmick appears to be procedurally-generated stages where the ‘structure, platforms, and enemy placements change for a fresh experience every time’.
Visually, it looks like a bit of a downgrade compared to the last game in the series, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, with a mobile-ish aesthetic. Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is developed by Taito and published by Arc System Works everywhere outside of Japan, and is set to be released across PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam in winter 2025.
Another new game published by Arc System Works is role-player Demon’s Night Fever, developed by Drecom and SuperNiche. The latter was founded by former Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Niikawa, who helped create the Disgaea series.
Demon’s Night Fever is slated to launch in 2026 and, during the presentation, Niikawa described the game’s ‘very, very long’ genre as: ‘Enemies? Allies? Kill kill kill! The more you die, the stronger you become! Raising Speedrunning Simulation RPG.’
He added: ‘I know you feel it’s nonsense, and I feel the same when saying it myself. But that’s how outrageous this game is, so we hope you look forward to it!’
Other games shown at the event include previously announced titles Double Dragon Revive, Absolum from the creators behind Streets Of Rage 4, and HunterxHunter NenxImpact, a fighting game based on the popular manga.
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