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Published Apr 25, 2026, 11:31 AM EDT
Murillo Zerbinatto is a contributor from Brazil. He's a JRPG enthusiast who has been around the world of games and content creation for more than six years now. He has a particular love for Final Fantasy and has absorbed all the content this long-running series offers, including its obscure spinoffs such as Dimension I & II, Explorers, and My Life as a King. While playing JRPGs is already a time-sinking endeavor, Murillo doubles down by being a platinum hunter as well.
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Developing a game is becoming an increasingly long process. I don't understand much about the backstage of a dev team, but I imagine that as time passes, technology improves, and software becomes more accessible and democratic. Take Expedition 33, for example, where the devs mentioned that 95% of the gameplay systems were made with Unreal Engine blueprints.
Even so, it is not an easy task. Whenever a new JRPG is announced, if it doesn't have a release date, I already assume I will see it in 2 or 3 years, or even longer, depending on the scope of the project. And yet, I am still surprised by further delays, the lack of announcements, and other problems that could lead to a development limbo for these titles.
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I am still hopeful and eager for these JRPGs to see the light of day, despite how radio silent their updates have been over the past few years. Today, I will show some of these titles that were announced a long time ago but have since had little or no news, mercilessly crushing every fan's expectations.
8 Guns Undarkness
Still in the Dark
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Shoji Meguro |
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Kodansha |
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2026 |
Guns Undarkness might not be in development limbo in the rawest sense of the word, but it may feel like it if you don't follow the Kickstarter. And let's face it, a few posts on a board don't necessarily signify the same level of progress as a new trailer. For those who don't know, Guns Undarkness is a tactical RPG helmed by Shoji Meguro, the stellar composer of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises.
The JRPG was announced in November 2021 and opened its Kickstarter campaign in September 2022. In four days, it had already reached double its funding goal, which prompted the development. Fast forward a few years, and Guns Undarkness received a demo in February 2025. However, as reports say, the feedback wasn't very positive, and the developers went back to the drawing board.
Since then, we only have occasional updates from Shoji Meguro on Kickstarter and from the team on Discord, but that doesn't mean the game will come out soon or, well, when it will come out. Considering the timeline from the initial announcement to the demo release, and now to the feedback tweaks, I would guess Guns Undarkness still has another 2 or 3 years in the oven.
7 Oddity / Mother 4
A Fan's Dream Almost Realized by Fans
This is an odd one, no pun intended. The Mother/Earthbound series is one of those that cultivated an extremely devoted and passionate fan base, to the point that some of these fans started creating their own new mainline entry. Of course, Mother 4 isn't an official mainline, but it followed the franchise's blueprint so closely that other fans accepted the moniker. Down the road, however, the JRPG underwent a rebranding and was renamed Oddity.
The project began development in 2006 and, unfortunately, its last written update was on the game's Tumblr in 2016, and a teaser trailer was released in 2020. Since then, it has been radio silent. The thing is, the game is gorgeous, features turn-based combat with timed inputs, and also has the same quirky, whimsical script as the Mother franchise.
But nothing indicates that the project continued. We haven't had more official updates anywhere, whether on the official website, Twitter, Reddit, or Tumblr. There are still some hopeful fans out there, because hope is all they have.
6 Earthlock 2
Release Date Was Set for 2022
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Snowcastle Games |
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Snowcastle Games |
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TBA |
Every now and then, after finishing a long JRPG or one from a known franchise, I like to scour digital storefronts for lesser-known indies to see how unusual they can be. In one of these searches, I came across Earthlock by Snowcastle Games. It was a cozy, really interesting RPG that, yeah, scratched that itch.
Imagine my surprise when Earthlock 2 was announced in 2020. Along with the announcement came an interview with Bendik Stang, co-founder of Snowcastle Games, talking about some changes in the sequel. For example, while the first was made in Unity, the second game was being developed in Unreal Engine and would feature open-world action RPG gameplay instead of turn-based combat.
However, a lot may have changed. Earthlock 2 was supposed to be released in 2022, but well, look where we are, and I haven't played it yet! The game received a cinematic trailer in 2024, but it felt more like a "hey, we're alive!" message than anything else. Until we get a full gameplay trailer and more updates, I won't hold my breath, even though I'm still pretty excited for Earthlock 2.
5 Decapolice
Searching for Clues on the Game's Development
Decapolice isn't necessarily in development limbo, especially given that games nowadays take 3 to 5 years to develop. However, it's worth a mention since we've had only a few updates about the game, and the most recent one, made during a Level-5 livestream, said the JRPG would no longer be released on Switch or PS4, but rather on Switch 2, PS5, and Steam.
The game was first announced in 2023 with a release for the same year, but it suffered delays until reaching a release date window of 2026, meaning it can, potentially, be delayed again. All this is a bummer because Level-5 always knew how to impress with its JRPGs, and Decapolice, with its detective premise and crime-solving mechanics, seemed like another unusual, fun entry in the developer's catalog.
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4 Armed Fantasia
The Successor to the Anime Western
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Wild Bunch Productions |
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Searching for one |
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TBA |
One of the initiatives I have loved most in recent years was Japanese developers turning to Kickstarter to create spiritual successors to their series. This happened with Bloodstained, Mighty No. 9, Eiyuden Chronicle, among others, and regardless of what you think of these titles, at least they exist.
Then, in August 2022, a Double Kickstarter was announced with the games Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood, spiritual successors to Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts, simultaneously. For those who enjoy PS1 and PS2 JRPGs, it was like a dream come true. Two wonderful series, possibly receiving new titles, was something unthinkable until then. The financial goal was met in a single day, and in a month, it was almost quadrupled. What followed, however, was not just good news.
Armed Fantasia, at least, still provides regular updates on its development. The most recent was that they were preparing a vertical slice to seek a publisher and were hopeful about it. I am too because, well, what else can I do, right? I believe Armed Fantasia will eventually be released, even if it's in 2030. However, I can't say the same about Penny Blood.
3 Penny Blood
A Situation as Grim as the Game's Atmosphere
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Studio Wildrose |
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Desperately searching for one |
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TBA |
Penny Blood, the other half of the Double Kickstarter mentioned above, doesn't have a promising outlook. Initially, the project seemed even more active than Armed Fantasia, as it received a spinoff, Penny Blood: Hellbound, and a novel, Penny Blood: Inheritor's Story, set after the events of the games. Studio Wildrose was already betting on multimedia to increase our hype.
However, what really matters, the game, wasn't getting any updates at all. After some funding problems involving the indie publisher Dangen not paying in full what Penny Blood was owed, it was revealed that the Kickstarter money was just to, literally, kick-start the project, and that if both JRPGs didn't find a publisher, they wouldn't be able to keep going. Since Penny Blood had the aforementioned funding problems, the money ran out faster than for Armed Fantasia.
That's why I said I have hopes that, despite everything, Armed Fantasia will still be released. On the other hand, I can't say the same about Penny Blood. It's an insane bummer because I genuinely would love to spend hours and hours playing these two JRPGs, but only time will tell if that's possible.
2 Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate
Return of the King
Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate
Dragon Quest, AKA the series famously known for creating the whole JRPG handle. I imagine there's a certain weight behind the responsibility of creating each new mainline entry, especially one that will follow the resounding success of Dragon Quest XI. However, do we still deserve to stay in the dark for five whole freaking years? Dragon Quest XII received a brief teaser in 2021, and so far, we have only had some news about its development.
One piece of info, right at the beginning, is that the command-based system would be revamped. Look, it doesn't mean Dragon Quest would abandon the turn-based gameplay it's known for, but we have some command systems in Final Fantasy VII Remake, for instance. The second piece of news was about producer Yu Miyake stepping down amidst delays with Dragon Quest XII development.
I believe in Yuji Horii's supremacy! And while we don't have more news about the new mainline, at least we're getting remakes galore of Dragon Quest, and all of them are worth playing while we wait patiently for The Flames of Fate.
1 Kingdom Hearts 4
My Heart Will Go On
If there's a series whose disappearance stings a bit harder than Dragon Quest, it would be Kingdom Hearts. Even more so, given the facts: Kingdom Hearts 4 received a gameplay trailer in 2022, it will be a direct sequel to Sora's adventures since it started, plus, we are talking about Nomura, who unfortunately has Final Fantasy Versus XIII on his track record.
If I were asked to choose only one game from this list to be released in exchange for sacrificing all the others, it would definitely be Kingdom Hearts 4. Considering the final events of the third game, I didn't even think we would get a continuation — and come on, putting a hook in DLC is so Nomura-coded and a tad annoying.
I love how Square had the cheek to say Kingdom Hearts 4 is the kickoff of a new story arc called the Lost Master. This assumes we will have more games on the horizon (and no more handheld console releases for Nomura to lean on). So, if Kingdom Hearts 4 is taking 6 years or more of development, how long would a possible Kingdom Hearts 4.833/2 take? Now I know why he loves Heartless.
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