Ni No Kuni II delayed until January 19, 2018

The sequel to the Studio Ghibli inspired JRPG has been delayed until next year to ensure the final product’s quality.

The Facts

In a video released by Bandai Namco Entertainment July 13, CEO of Level 5 and Director of “Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom” Akihiro Hino announced that the game would be delayed until January 19, 2018.

“We have decided that more development time is required in order to deliver the full Ni No Kuni II experience to our fans,” Hino said. “I deeply apologize to those who have been looking forward to the game’s release.”

Hino went on to clarify a mistake he made during an E3 interview, stating that there would not be multiplayer in the final build of Ni No Kuni II.

“I misunderstood the question, thinking it was asking about online content in general, and my answer referred to online announcements of in game events. As a result of this, I wrongly gave the impression that the game features multiplayer content. I would like to sincerely apologize for causing this misunderstanding,” Hino said.

He ended the video by thanking fans and media outlets for the eight upcoming game awards and nine nominations they received from this year’s E3.

“Please allow me to express the gratitude we all feel towards our players and fans for your constant support,” he said. “As a team, we will continue to work hard to improve the quality of the game.”

Author’s Take

While it’s unfortunate that we won’t see the “Ni No Kuni II” until next year, a more honed product is always preferable to a rushed one. Not only that, but the game will have a much better chance of success now that it won’t be competing with the many other titles releasing in October of this year. Fingers crossed that this choice works in Level 5’s favor.