Tales of Arise was among one of the highest-rated JRPGs of last year, quickly becoming the best-selling entry in the Tales franchise. However, Bandai Namco Studios have now stated that they have no plans to make a direct sequel to the game, instead focusing their efforts on a new flagship title.

During a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Tales of Arise producer Yusuke Tomiwaza confirmed that they don’t plan on making a direct sequel to the popular JRPG, despite its financial and critical success.

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Tomiwaza instead said that the team hoped the ending of the game would be wrapped up “with a good aftertaste” without the need for a sequel or expansion. However, he would later add, “we need to come up with a cutting-edge flagship title that builds on the success of Arise, while also providing an opportunity to rediscover the history of the series.”

Whether this means continuing the Tales series or creating a new, loosely linked IP altogether is anyone’s guess, but the franchise has gained enough attention thanks to Tales of Arise to warrant new entries and stories in their many universes.

The Tales series began in 1995 with the release of Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom. It spanned a total of seventeen mainline titles, with more notable ones including Tales of Zestiria, Tales of Berseria and Tales of Symphonia. Tales of Destiny and Tales of Xillia were the only games to receive direct sequels in the franchise.

Given the enormous five-year gap between Berseria and Arise, it might be a while until we see Bandai Namco Studios announce a new entry in the series.

Tales of Arise is now available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

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Source: Edge Magazine (via GamesRadar)