Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has discussed the many challenges in developing Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time in a new blog post designed to update keen players about the studio’s next steps. As noted, Level-5 has taken on three major projects this year, and that’s naturally led to some concerns about delays.
In an effort to reassure its audience, Hino has detailed developments for the studio’s upcoming array of games, to “move forward together with our fans, step by step.”
“Of course, not everything can be shared publicly,” Hino said. “That said, I still want to convey my thoughts and experiences from the process with everyone – even if only on a personal level … The reality is that my perspective as the CEO and my perspective as a creator can sometimes be very different. In such cases, I want to walk that fine line and share as much as I can with our players, making the lead-up to these games exciting rather than just a long wait.”
Why was Fantasy Life i delayed?
In his new blog, Hino has confirmed Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was previously delayed due to a need to restructure and overhaul development, following the unexpected departure of producer Keiji Inafune in mid-2024, as well as negative feedback in play tests.
Read: Fantasy Life i sets multi-platform launch in May 2025
“In mid-2024, Fantasy Life faced an unexpected challenge. At that time, producer Keiji Inafune left the company, and we had to reassess and restructure the project,” Hino said. “Meanwhile, internal test players had given the game harsh evaluations, making it clear that major revisions were necessary.”
Following Inafune’s departure, Hino stepped into the role of producer, and the game’s core development team were shifted from Osaka to Level-5 headquarters. Subsequently, Fantasy Life i became a “collective effort” across all of Level-5, with developers from Fukuoka, Tokyo, and beyond contributing their talents.
“This restructuring allowed us to expand the team and create an environment where we could focus on fine-tuning the game’s quality right up until the very end,” Hino said.
With a bolstered team, the decision was made to completely overhaul the game’s structure, adding in “open-world exploration and parkour-style actions, restructuring the system’s progression flow, improving the core mechanics, and refining the scenario to be even more emotionally impactful.”
Hino believes these changes have made the game significantly more enjoyable, and they reportedly shifted the mood of play tests considerably.
“For us, watching Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka (and Hokkaido, too!) come together as one to push the game’s quality to a higher level was a powerful reminder of the true joy in creating a large-scale game,” Hino said.
Following this structural overhaul, there is now high hopes for this game and its upcoming cross-platform launch.
Inazuma Eleven V will be delayed “a tiny bit”
In addition to confirming how development on Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has evolved, Hino also provided an update on Inazuma Eleven V, confirming the team has gone “all out” with this game.
A new showcase titled “Inazuma Eleven V Heroes Showcase 2025″ will be streamed on 11 April 2025, with this set to reveal the game’s release date, and everything keen players can expect. Notably, Hino confirmed the planned release date “might slip just a tiny bit due to the ripple effects of Fantasy Life i.”
“The final stages of development involve a truly massive workload, but the team is tackling it with full force, confident that this game will make a real impact both as an RPG and as an online competitive experience,” Hino said.
Stay tuned to hear more about this upcoming game, and to hear about new developments for Fantasy Life i.
