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StarTopic Monolith Soft Development and Speculation |ST|
- Thread starter TheGreatLugia
- Start date
ika
Moblin
And assuming that there are 100% sure happening projects just because those job descriptions.
what‘s more probable, that a job description for an action game posted almost six years ago and a more recent one are related and that this supposed game is still in active development and they’re even still hiring for it, or that the old job description is for something that is no longer in active development (I.e. a pitch that was eventually rejected by Nintendo) and maybe they’re trying again with another one that may or may not be approved?
There is also the possibility that they’re hiring for other reasons, like giving assistance for projects for another developer or nurturing its own company with talent out of their own expertise just in case of necessity…
don't think you can map this out probabilistically because hiring doesn't operate similarly between companies. for one studio, the former can be how they do things, for another company, the latter, for a third studio, something completely different.
all we can really do is take the job listings at face value because we can't extract any other information from them
Apopheniac
Monolith Soft action game truther
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Sometimes game dev just takes a while. Monolith Soft probably wasn't planning on having the project remain unannounced over five years after they posted the hiring call for it, but often these things don't go according to plan, especially when they're pivoting from the genre they typically work within. Maybe XCDE or Zelda needed more staff than they'd anticipated, maybe they'd intended to rope in the Kyoto crew but NCL called dibs, maybe they had trouble with contracting a third party. Maybe some guy whose name we didn't pay attention to had to leave and things fell apart without them. Maybe they were planning on one-upping TW101 but their Switch devkits melted trying to render 200 guys at once. COVID definitely didn't help, we know XC3 took longer than expected, and I'd be surprised if TotK didn't as well.
That they put up a special recruitment page on their website in the first place would suggest that the project was at least scoped, budgeted, and greenlit. We know it's been actively developed since 2021 at the latest, but it may have started development earlier. The UI designer job is a six-month contract, which sounds less like "we still haven't found a UI designer for this game" and more like "the person we had doing it quit/had a baby/is taking a long vacation, we need someone to fill in." Whatever dev hell the action game has been through, or however much the idea or scope has morphed, it certainly hasn't been canceled.
That they put up a special recruitment page on their website in the first place would suggest that the project was at least scoped, budgeted, and greenlit. We know it's been actively developed since 2021 at the latest, but it may have started development earlier. The UI designer job is a six-month contract, which sounds less like "we still haven't found a UI designer for this game" and more like "the person we had doing it quit/had a baby/is taking a long vacation, we need someone to fill in." Whatever dev hell the action game has been through, or however much the idea or scope has morphed, it certainly hasn't been canceled.
Dark Cloud
Warpstar Knight
Brand new IP’s with large scope can take awhile. This isn’t 1998 anymore. This isn’t 2004 anymore. Covid also messed up everyone. There could’ve been some hang ups during development that slowed Monolith down. Next thing you know Nintendo says “hey take your time because at this point this will be a big showing for Switch 2”. There is an Actjon game by monolith soft in development as shown by them hiring for one.
Zeal543
Chain Chomp
I wouldn't be surprised if it's the year 1 RPG like XC2 was. A new major XC game isn't coming out anytime soon and I doubt FE will be ready by then either.
TheMoon
(not a sphere)
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but you know Engage was just sitting wrapped and ready to go on a shelf for a long time, right?
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The key point for me is that there's evidence Monolith Soft are doing something that probably isn't Zelda or Xenoblade; doesn't matter if it has any relationship to the art and hiring call from 2017 or not. They're a talented studio and have had a huge amount of investment this generation, so it'd be good to see that bearing fruit as PG1 and PG2 lead development on different games as well as the contributions to open world Zelda.
Ideally, that's the path more of Nintendo's subsidiaries take. High investment, lead development on a couple of projects at a time, and contribute to co-development and development support for other studios.
I also wouldn't rule out another joint IS x KT Fire Emblem game. Maybe IS did Engage and development overlapped with a co-developed KT Fire Emblem.
Ideally, that's the path more of Nintendo's subsidiaries take. High investment, lead development on a couple of projects at a time, and contribute to co-development and development support for other studios.
Yeah, Intelligent Systems have had a little while to get production done on new projects despite Engage only releasing recently. Even WarioWare seemed to be content complete around a year before release, so IS should remain pretty productive; WarioWare and Origami King both probably wrapped up in 2020 and FE Engage was mostly done by summer 2021 (though we can obviously assume polishing and DLC development took time and resources).
I also wouldn't rule out another joint IS x KT Fire Emblem game. Maybe IS did Engage and development overlapped with a co-developed KT Fire Emblem.
TheMoon
(not a sphere)
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the recent Nintendo Dream interview confirmed that Engage development was overlapping with Three Houses (as Engage was intended to release for the franchise anniversary in 2020)
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Right, yeah, I'd forgot about that. But I wonder if IS and KT began anything else in 2020/21 (other than Three Hopes), at which point Three Houses was out, a critical and commercial success, and Engage was still in the works.
Zeal543
Chain Chomp
True I forgot about that.
TheMoon
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maybe not in 20/21 but surely in 21/22
(if anyone's confused why we're talking about this, a point was made about new hardware's early game slate and readiness of potential "RPGs")
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ika
Moblin
Not yet sadly, just Noah and Mio amiibos apparently… My hope is that the physical edition will be announced later on like with Metroid Prime…
if there was a physical, it'd be announced by now
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Lelouch0612
Growing Install Base
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Alongside Pikmin4
TheMoon
(not a sphere)
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if there will ever be one, it'll probably be a late release, maybe like the solo print of Bayonetta 1. At least they've announced nothing. Who knows, maybe they'll do a semi-limited MyNintendo Store release or just time it around the release of the Mio and Noah amiibo
Dark Cloud
Warpstar Knight
We can never know anything for sure until something is announced, but if this new action IP is coming then I would see it releasing within the first year of the new system.
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Yes.
We have no idea when it'll launch, or how development went, or if this is recognisably the same game that had a hiring call back in 2017. We know an action game is in the works, but that's about it.
AoiHana
NINTENDOOMED
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With Future Redeemed being confirmed for next week and Tears of the Kingdom coming out in less than a month, Monolith Soft Tokyo’s release schedule is completely empty for the first time since Torna. Makes me think the action game is maybe coming sooner rather than later. We’ll have to see what hiring calls, if any, go out after the release of these next two projects for any pointers on what else they might do from here on out.
Apopheniac
Monolith Soft action game truther
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The UI designer contract being six months would put this year off the table, though I think it's possible we might at least see it revealed in a September Direct
Comic Obsessed
Chain Chomp
I don't want that "action game" to release any soon. Monolith should launch that for Switch 2.
ika
Moblin
That’s the only logical reason for a supposed long development time… they saw some potential and changed the target platform mid-dev.
ika
Moblin
I don’t believe that’s the case as Production team 1 (XC3) will probably start next Xeno- game or at least a port of XCX (if that’s not already work in progress with a sub team from team 1).
If the fabled action game is real (and I’m still very doubtful even with the new job description) it’ll be Production team 2 (Zelda) or a sub-team from team 2.
Apopheniac
Monolith Soft action game truther
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Xenoblade 3, a game built off of established systems and with judicious asset reuse of environments and enemies, took four years to release following TTGC. How long do you think Monolith Soft needs for a game of a different genre that wouldn't use recognizable Xenoblade assets?
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ika
Moblin
In the end, they’ll be just remaking Disaster Day of Crisis and it’ll be both hilarious and amazing
Clov
An ethernet cable girlfriend
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Disaster Day of Crisis is actually great! I love the light-gun style shoot-out parts. The story is pretty funny too. If Monolith somehow against all odds is making a sequel, I'd pick it up on a heartbeat.
The only real flaw the game has is that the motion control driving parts are terrible! Cut those out (or at least revamp the controls) and it would be perfect.
The only real flaw the game has is that the motion control driving parts are terrible! Cut those out (or at least revamp the controls) and it would be perfect.
If they're gonna remake it, cut out the light gun parts and make them a proper tps
Clov
An ethernet cable girlfriend
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Never! Light gun games rule!
Apopheniac
Monolith Soft action game truther
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Tried to put together a timeline of stuff we know about Monolith Soft's development to speculate on. Feel free to @ me if you've got anything I ought to add
2015
- XCX and PXZ2 release
- Hiroshi Ando directs cancelled action game [link]
- Employees split between XC2 and BotW, plus a few R&D [link]
- XC2 and BotW release
- Recruitment page for ambitious new title (action game) is posted
- From this year through 2021, Monolith's staff count grows to double
- XC2:TTGC releases
- Production begins on XCDE and XC3 [link]
- Recruitment page for Production Team 1 (XCDE and XC3) posted
- Yasuyuki Honne leaves Monolith Soft's Kyoto studio to work in Tokyo [link]
- Recruitment page for Production Team 2 (Zelda) is posted
- XCDE releases
- XC3 supposedly intended to release, but was delayed [link]
- Andrzej Zamoyski begins working at Monolith Soft as a game designer on an action game for the Switch [link]
- XC3 releases
- ToTK intended to release, but was delayed
- XC3:FR and TotK release
- Job posting for 6-month+ contract appears, looking for UI designer for action game [link]
Dark Cloud
Warpstar Knight
I mean it’s right there. The Andrezj person is working on the new Action game.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed credits (no voice actors/localization/cutscene/music production)
Xenoblade 3: Future Redeemed - Kyoto Report
kyoto-report.wikidot.com
Directors were Masahiro Iwamoto from Monolith and Yuki Sakamoto from EPD. As was already known, series director Koh Kojima was not involved (even as a producer) and has only received a Special Thanks credit alongside Shigekazu Yamada (Xenoblade DE Producer/Planning Lead). Koji Hayashi has seemingly been promoted to producer.
Some other notable staff absences from the base game include Mamoru Ohta (Scenario/Cinematics), Makoto Shimamoto (Planner), Yuichiro Sumita (Planner), and Kanae Nakayama (Planner). There are probably more.
eye0h
"aggressively persue a multiplatform strategy"
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Not much till zelda totk releases and we can compare credits I imagine.
AoiHana
NINTENDOOMED
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“Soon” is relative, admittedly. I don’t think this action game is gonna come out on Switch 1 unless Nintendo is really, really stupid (and seeing how they haven’t released Stinky Horse yet, they’re probably not that dumb). I’m expecting it in like, Year 1 or maybe 2 of Redacted, which assuming a Q4 FY2023 release for Redacted would position it sometime in 2024 or 2025. IMO that’s soon enough, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
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Dark Cloud
Warpstar Knight
Omg it’s happening!
They’re getting a base salary increase
They’re getting a base salary increase
I have no doubt it's been mentioned in this thread and, if so, I want to add my voice to theirs. Can we please, please, please get a Xenoblade X port to switch?!? I want to play that so bad and they just never get around to porting it. And them dudes work fast so hopefully we get some word on that. I will lose my shit if that shows up in a direct.
