What are Bandai Namco working on... A look at their studios
This is the first year that we have included Bandai Namco in our list, not because we did not want to, but simply because their internal structure has just been so hard to work out. But this year, we put in the time to sort out which of their 69 companies/divisions make videogames.
As you can see from what is displayed below, Bandai Namco were far and away the most prolific publisher of games in 2025, including a lot of original titles. Now yes, many of the games are continuations of existing series, and there are some remasters in the mix, but they made a lot of original games.
In a weird twist, Bandai Namco off-loaded two studios in 2025, one of them to Nintendo and the other to a private investor. The latter of the two was only just announced before the holiday break, so if you missed that news, it would explain why.
Acquisitions/Divestments:
Bandai Namco Studios Singapore - Sold to Nintendo via stock transfer.
Limbic Entertainment - Sold to a private investor
These are the games that were published in 2025, with those titles that are bolded being original releases:
Freedom Wars Remastered - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5**
Tales of Graces f Remastered - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Synduality: Echo of Ada - PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Gakuen Idolmaster - PC (Japan Only)
Bleach: Rebirth of Souls - PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Project:;COLD case.mirage - Nintendo Switch, PC
SD Gundam G Generation Eternal - Android, iOS
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered - Nintendo Switch, PC
Elden Ring Nightreign - PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S*
Tamagotchi Plaza - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Patapon 1+2 Replay - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5**
Shadow Labyrinth - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Super Robot Wars Y - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5**
Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra - Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S*
Jump+ Jumble Rush - Android, iOS
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Digimon Story: Time Stranger - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Little Nightmares III - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition - Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Once Upon a Katamari - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Tales of Xillia Remastered - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 - Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
*indicates published only, no IP ownership.
**indicates IP owned by PlayStation, but licenced out to Bandai Namco
While there were no studio closures from Bandai Namco in 2025, they did let go a number of staff from their Canadian studio, Reflector Entertainment. Their world Unknown 9 was a game, comic, book, radio dramas and more, nothing grabbed onto peoples attention though. There was no count given on how many staff were impacted.
If you are curious to see how we did in years past, you can find our 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 Previews here. Just one final thing to note, we are guessing we have the structure below correct, but we might be off by a little bit.
Bandai Namco Studios
Studio 1
Known for: Tekken, Soulcalibur, Ace Combat | Last game released: Tekken 8
The home of Tekken, Soulcalibur and Ace Combat, this is where the big games are made, well the big name brands at least. Tekken 8 released way back at the start of 2024 and the group have been overseeing the DLC since then, with a lot of support from the Malaysian studio, more on them in a bit. Last year saw Aces, the team that oversee the Ace Combat series, celebrate 30 years of flight, which resulted in the reveal in December of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. The studio is also where one of the newest IP from Bandai Namco lives, with Code Vein being developed from here.
So in 2026 expect this team to be quite busy, as they continue their DLC support for Tekken 8, as Miary Zo joined the fight last month and was the final character of Season 2. Details about what will be in a Season 3 are not known, nor is there official word that it is happening, but given Tekken 7 had 4 seasons, this feels likely. Before the first character from that releases, Code Vein II will drop at the end of January and will see players explore a post-apocalyptic world, and battle against powerful enemies. The first game released in 2019, so the team have taken their time, which hopefully translates to a great souls-like experience for players. Finally, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is expected to take flight in 2026, but there is no date beyond the year, given its only just been announced, I would imagine September at the earliest, October the likeliest.
Studio 2
Known for: Many | Last game released: Unknown
This group have been known to support the other teams with their games, but also have been known to be frequent collaborators with Nintendo on games like Super Smash Bros and Kirby Air Riders. Given they tend to be supporting other teams and companies, there is a good chance they have a lot going on, we just don’t know what.
Studio 3
Known for: Scarlet Nexus, Tales of series, Idolmaster series | Last game released: Tales of Arise
It has been a while since this studio got games out the door, but when you consider that they did get both Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise out in 2021, within a few months of each other, you can understand why have been quiet. Well maybe not that quiet as there are still a lot from them, the Idolmaster series for one. Now that is a Japan exclusive series with usually one release a year. This is also the group that likely oversaw the development of Synduality: Echo of Ada, while development was done externally. Last year saw the studio oversee the release of Tales of Graces f Remastered and Tales of Xillia Remastered and they announced Tales of Berseria Remastered.
That last one is actually set to release this February and there are rumours that Tales of Xillia 2 is getting the remastered treatment already. The problem is, beyond that one confirmed game, there is no much known about what is coming next. Scarlet Nexus was a co-dev project with Tose being the other half, but 2025 saw them work on Tales of Graces f Remastered and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake for Square Enix. It is not impossible for this group to have more to talk about, but I suspect we might need to wait until June for them to reveal whatever is next.
Studio S
Known for: Many | Last game released: Unknown
Much like Studio 2, Studio S is a support studio and known to create assets for a number of games, both internally an externally. Bandai Namco is not the only one to do this, Capcom does it as well, with one of the frequently supported companies being Nintendo. Reports have had this group create assets for Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart World.
Given a lot of folks are hoping for DLC for the latter of those titles, if that happens, then I would expect this group to be assisting. The problem with being a support studio is that we never know what they are working on, until the credits roll.
Development Enchantment Studio
Known for: Unknown | Last game released: Unknown
This is not really a development group, but more of an analysis team, taking a look at what folks love about games post release and what they don’t. This research helps shape what games get DLC and what games get nothing, it may be the reason why Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is still getting paid DLC, 10 years after it first released. As such, don’t expect to see their name in any credits, as a developer at least.
Technology Studio
Known for: Nothing | Last game released: Nothing
As you might guess from the name, this is not a game developer, but rather a tool creation and research studio, it is where Bandai Namco Research is based from. This group does a lot of tool development for their own studios, but they also partner with others for releases, like being able to recreate older games on modern hardware, like they did with Ridge Racer.
It is not just game related tech, as the team also do research into things like AI, live capture and even HDRI, you can learn more about that here. Given how much they are involved with the tech side of things, I would imagine their name will be in credits of most games this year.
Bandai Namco Studios Singapore
Known for: Many | Last game released: Hirogami
This might be the first year we are doing Bandai Namco, but it will be the last and only time this group is in the list, because in April, they will become a Nintendo studio. In the past they have been known as a support team, for both Bandai Namco and Nintendo, that is a recurring trend it seems. They have worked on games like Ace Combat, Tekken and even Taiko no Tatsujin. Last year the studio developed and released their own game, Hirogami, which in a weird twist was not published by Bandai Namco.
With the studio changing hands in 2026, I expect that whatever projects they are working on now will run through to completion, which likely means some Tekken 8 content and whatever project Nintendo has them working on. Once the change over happens and current projects wrap up, I expect them to be a full support studio for Nintendo, which is a shame as they could do something fun if they were given the chance, just look at Hirogami.
Bandai Namco Studios Malaysia
Known for: None | Last game released: None
If Singapore was the first support studio than Malaysia is the improved version of that, because since their inception in 2016, they have worked on Tekken 7 and Tekken 8, Soulcalibur VI, God Eater 3, Tales of Arise and Code Vein, as well as likely on the sequel. Plus, this should not be a surprise at this point, but they have also helped Nintendo with work on Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Splatoon 3 and Kirby Air Riders.
As for 2026, I fully expect their name to be in the credits for Code Vein II, but beyond that, who knows. Given they are big supporters of Tekken 8, I imagine they will keep supporting that game as well. The studio has also done some support work for Bandai Namco published games like Elden Ring: Nightreign, so they might have other works happening, but again, until the credits roll, we might not know what they are doing.
Bandai Namco Forge Digitals
Known for: Super Robot Wars, Gundam | Last game released: Super Robot Wars Y
Before 2025, this group was known as B.B. Studio, but got the name changed to Bandai Namco Forge Digitals, which is not as cool in my book. But that was not the only thing they did in 2025, they released two games of their own in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Battle Destiny Remastered and Super Robot Wars Y. They also provided support for the development for Kirby Air Riders.
As for 2026, there is no telling what they are up to, given they just released two pretty big games last year, I don’t think we would hear from them this year, but maybe some DLC for their recent releases, but that would be it.
Reflector Entertainment
Known for: Unknown 9 | Last game released: Unknown 9: Awakening
Releasing in October 2024, Unknown 9: Awakening was the debut game from Reflector Entertainment, but it was not the first time players were able to access that world. The studio released radio dramas, comics and novels for it, expanding the world, sadly it all fell flat. This lead to the studio being the only group in 2025 to have layoffs applied, though the number of them was never revealed.
As for 2026, well we know the studio is working on something new, however all we know right now is it is “the next installment of a cherished Bandai Namco franchise.“ That detail came from numerous job listings that ran for most of 2025 for the second team, who are working on the new game, but they were quite coy in not revealing anything beyond that. Will this new game release this year? Not a chance, in fact I don’t even think it will be revealed this year, given we are just 15 months past their last game releasing, I expect they are going to take their time on this one.
D3 Publisher
Known for: Full Metal Schoolgirl, Earth Defense Force | Last game released: SIMPLE Series for Nintendo Switch 2 Vol.1 - THE Mahjong
You might know the name D3, they have been around for almost 40 years, they tend to just float around on the edge of most gamers awareness. They have created games for Naruto, Ben 10 and Astro Boy over the years, but they are most known for the Simple series of games and their large release of Otome titles.
Last year had the studio release about a dozen titles, some were more involved than others, the Simple series living up to its name there. They don’t show as having an open roles right now, which generally means they are just moving on with whatever plans they have next. With them releasing a lot of games in Japan and maybe 1 out of every 10 outside of Japan, we will see their name in 2026, just for what and how often are questions we can’t answer.
Publishing
Rebel Wolves
Bandai Namco announced early on that they were working with developer Rebel Wolves, to bring their debut title to players and that year is 2026. New details for The Blood of Dawnwalker have been released, you can read those here, the only thing we don’t yet have is a release date. That I think will be for September or October, given the vampire themes, a spooky season release makes sense.
Byking
Known for: Gunslinger Stratos, My Hero Academia One’s Justice | Last game released: Dialoop -Roguelite Puzzle-
Known for a lot of anime based games, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Byking has been the developer for the My Hero Academia series since the beginning and they will continue that in February with My Hero Academia: All's Justice. They also have Dialoop, which is an early access game, so they should be fairly busy in 2026.
FromSoftware
Known for: Dark Souls, Bloodborne | Last game released: Elden Ring Nightreign
Wait, FromSoftware is in the list? Yes, because Bandai Namco have been the publisher for a number of their games, mainly the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring. For those curious, Activision did Sekiro and Bloodborne was PlayStation. Elden Ring Nightreign was meant to land on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025, but was delayed with the message being “we will change the release to 2026.“ Given no new window has been given, I expect this game to come sometime after May, at the earliest.
They also have The Duskbloods coming for Nintendo Switch 2, but we don’t know if that is a published by Bandai Namco title, published by Nintendo or even self-published. From Bandai Namco’s point of view, expect more content and fixes for Nightreign, as that title keeps going.
Type-Moon Studio BB
Known for: Fate series | Last game released: Fate/Samurai Remnant
The studio is a sub-studio of the main Type-Moon group, with the goal of working with external developers to help make games. The groups first title will be Fate/EXTRA Record, which is a remake of Fate/EXTRA, which released in 2012 for us. The game was planned to release last year, but they put more time aside for it to get it looking and playing its best, so its now coming this year. There is no date beyond 2026 right now, so it is a waiting game.
So there we go, Bandai Namco, or at least as far as we can work out. The company has been going strong for a number of years and they do release a lot more games that we covered in the list, Dragon Ball, Naruto, My Hero Academia and so on, but those are created by other studios with Bandai Namco publishing.
Do you think we were on the money, or are we just wrong? If you think either let us know and of course, let us know what you hope to see from them this year.
