The wait for Digimon Survive is still ongoing. Now set for 2022, Digimon's fans have no further indication when they will actually see Survive come out. It certainly seems to be taking a long time for this hybrid survival strategy-RPG and visual novel to come out. This was likely due to internal development struggles, perhaps related to the branching narrative, compounded with a slowdown from the pandemic. Hopefully, this delay will be its last.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Digimon Survive has spearheaded the Digimon brand's console games since its announcement in 2018. Aside from a collection of both Cyber Sleuth games on modern platforms, there hasn't been much news on that front. It could be that Bandai Namco is committed to getting this project out the door before it commits to any further Digimon games. Once Survive finally comes out, fans could see Digimon games come back in a big way.
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Chances are likely that, after all this time, more Digimon games are in production by other teams. Although Digimon Survive is partially a strategic RPG, the amount of staff crossover between it and prior Digimon games is likely minimal. Bandai Namco definitely has other teams available to work on a different Digimon game. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory was the last major Digimon game release in 2017, and its developer Media.Vision has only released the 2018 Valkyria Chronicles 4 since then, so it could be working on another Digimon game. Survive's release will allow Bandai Namco to focus its resources and marketing materials elsewhere without an outstanding project hanging over its head.
The publisher and license holder has good reason to keep Digimon around, too. After a divisive era with App Monsters and Digimon Tri, classic Digimon is back on television with the original cast starring in a new anime. New games may not necessarily use the human cast, but they can definitely capitalize on there being an airing Digimon anime. Popular Digimon and locations could be featured prominently in a brand new game, and it would be good for the franchise to make it appear active and synergized. It feels about time for another big push or reinvention for Digimon, so it will be interesting to see what kind of game it puts forward as part of that.
Digimon Survive was always meant to be an experimental title. The Digimon series has plenty of other avenues to go down after it when it comes to video games, and that includes reviving existing sub-series. The Digimon World line of monster-raising action RPGs would be a welcome sight. The series briefly returned in the form of Digimon World: Next Order for the Vita and PS4, but has lain dormant since then. It's a uniquely intimate gameplay experience that Pokemon has taken some elements from in its 3D entries, and it would be nice to see it return once again.
Of course, Digimon is not without a pure turn-based experience of its own. The Stories series, particularly Cyber Sleuth, is ripe for further entries, and fans would be happy to see it return. The Cyber Sleuth games also received a lot of acclaim for being a sort of lite Shin Megami Tensei experience. Digivolution is much more flexible and branching than linear Pokemon evolution, so skills could be bounced around different Digimon and different forms. The more mature story for both Cyber Sleuths was also a highlight for many players. A similar game taking advantage of modern consoles would be a great direction for Digimon to take.
Digimon Survive is set in 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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