Armed Fantasia, Directorate Novitiate Development Purportedly Discontinued

In its latest earnings report, Digital Bros — parent company of publisher 505 Games — announced that it has discontinued development of both Wild Bunch Productions’s Armed Fantasia and Nesting Games’s Directorate Novitiate. The future status of both games and development studios is currently unclear.

Armed Fantasia was announced in 2022 as a spiritual successor to Wild ARMs, with series creator Akifumi Kaneko acting as lead game designer and scenario writer. It was revealed alongside intended Shadow Hearts successor Penny Blood, with the games undergoing a shared Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. The game features a “Westernpunk” setting, with players able to explore land, sea, and air in vehicles and participate in turn-based combat. The latest update, posted in March 2026, stated that the team had completed a vertical slice build of the game.

Directorate Novitiate was announced in 2025 for a Steam Early Access release and is an urban fantasy action RPG. It is planned to follow Mercury, who balances her everyday life with working as an assassin involved with the syndicate known as the Directorate. It features action combat combining third-person shooting and magic spells, with players able to utilise flashy Gun Kata moves.