Monolith Soft is reportedly working on a Xenoblade sequel, and could be announcing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Nintendo Switch before 2021 ends - Moreover, hints pointing toward a new Xenoblade game were dropped by Yasunori Mitsuda and CHiCO, two of the series' composers.

Xenoblade Chronicles - Sequel rumor explained

According to sources cited by Imran Khan at Fanbyte, Xenoblade 3 is almost at the end of its development and was supposed to be announced by Nintendo early in 2021. But was delayed due to the still ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The game's story would be set in the far future after Xenoblade Chronicles 2. With both new characters and returning characters including Melia from Xenoblade 1, and would be the end of a trilogy started with the first two games.

Moreover, Monolith Soft is reportedly encountering difficulties to optimize the game on Switch. Because Xenoblade 3 possibly displays more character models on screen at once than in Xenoblade 2. This would mean a lot of characters, seeing Xenoblade 2 displays the party members, each party member's Blade character, and the enemies. And while a late 2021 announcement is still possible, it's more and more likely the game will be revealed in 2022.

Xenoblade 3 hints from Yasunori Mitsuda, CHiCO

Furthermore, it's interesting to note Yasunori Mitsuda teased back in May 2021 that he was recording for a new game.

On February 27, 2021, Mitsuda mentioned he'll start recording for an important project. On May 9, the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra announced they recorded for a Japanese game, and Yasunori Mitsuda confirmed it was him, leading in video from Japan. The Bratislava Symphony Orchestra was already on the Xenoblade 2 OST.

Next, it's important to note that the Xenoblade series has multiple composers. Besides Mitsuda, there's also Mariam Abounnasr, ACE (TOMOri Kudo, CHiCO), Kenji Hiramatsu, or Manami Kiyota.

And earlier in 2021, around the same time as Mitsuda, CHiCO also mentioned on Twitter to be working on a new project. Of course, it's possible they were working on a different project, but it seems to all fit together now with that new report.

Monolith Soft is working on at least three new games

Last but not least, it's also important to note Monolith Soft already said it's working on several games for at least four years now. Xenoblade 2 was released on December 1, 2017, and the company is recruiting every year since then. Note that it's unlikely any of these games is another Namco x Capcom spiritual successor:

  • The Namco X Capcom series continued with the two Mugen no Frontier games on DS, and the two Project X Zone games on 3DS
  • The protagonist of Mugen no Frontier, Haken Browning, is now in the main Super Robot Wars OG series
  • The story of the protagonists of Namco X Capcom, Reiji and Xiaomu, ended with Project x Zone 2
  • The main writer of the series, Soichiro Morizumi, left Monolith Soft on March 31, 2017. He still works with Bandai Namco on Super Robot Wars OG and DD (Nowadays he also streams PSO2NGS with Xiaomu as his character)

Next, we also know Monolith Soft announced in August 2017 it was recruiting for a new fantasy-themed RPG. We never heard about this project again, and it was never formally announced. But its concept artwork is still on the recruitment page. Later, in March 2019, Monolith said it's also working on a Zelda game, which should be the Breath of the Wild sequel.

Lastly, on March 1, 2021, a recruitment drive for fresh graduates was announced. The recruitment page features a brand new key artwork by Hiroyasu Sato, with KOS-MOS, Shulk, Elma, and Rex, hinting at more Xeno games to come. The sales for Xenoblade 2 also exceeded expectations, and with the Future Connected new content in the Xenoblade 1 remaster, there's no way more Xenoblade isn't coming.

Personally, I'm still hoping for a remaster of Xenoblade X on Nintendo Switch. It's one of the few Wii U games that didn't get transferred on Switch yet. What do you guys think of all this? You can always reach me @A_iyane07.