Square Enix announced today a new Octopath Traveler game, titled Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha, which could be translated to "The Champions of the Continent". The game will be a free-to-play single-player RPG for iOS and Android and will include micro-transactions.Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha's story will be set several years before the events depicted in the original game on Nintendo Switch.The game's official site can be reached here. Square Enix announced that a preliminary test for the game will be held soon, and registration for it will begin on March 12 on the official site. Tairiku no Hasha's official Twitter, which you should definitely follow if you're interested in the game, can be reached here.While Square Enix didn't reveal much for now, Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha will use the same HD-2D graphics as Octopath Traveler on Switch, and seems to be pretty close to the original game. The battle system, the best aspect of the original game, with its weaknesses system and Exaltation Points (Boost Points in Japanese) system, is intact as well. The main difference is that the player's party in Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha can include up to 8 characters.Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha will be launching in Japan in 2019. There's no word from Square Enix yet if the game will be coming west or not, but most of Square Enix's mobile games do come over, and seeing Octopath Traveler's commercial success worldwide, there's no reason why it wouldn't.As for myself, I know this is an unpopular opinion, but as someone who was pretty disappointed by Octopath Traveler, I can't say I'm particularly looking forward to a new game, even less so if it's a free-to-play game. Octopath Traveler had some of the most boring dungeons designs I've ever seen, a huge discrepancy in the quality of the eight stories and a barebones endgame among many other problems. I highly doubt it will, but maybe Octopath Traveler Tairiku no Hasha will correct these problems, and hopefully, Square Enix and Acquire will if they make a proper Octopath Traveler 2 on Switch.Update: The official Octopath Traveler Twitter account also revealed that one more Octopath Traveler game is coming, this time for consoles:

"To those expecting a new console game, we're working on it as well, but it will take a bit more time. Please enjoy the mobile game for now"