Last month’s Latest Entry in the Atelier Series Will Be a Mobile Gacha Game
Last month, Gust announced the newest installment in the Atelier series, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Liberator of Polar Night. Unlike previous entries in the series, this game will be a gacha game available on mobile and Steam. The release date is yet to be announced, but it is expected to launch later this year in Japan.
A New Direction for Gust and Koei Tecmo
Atelier Resleriana is being developed by Gust and published by parent company Koei Tecmo. Koei Tecmo is known for its console games and its close ties to Nintendo. By introducing gacha mechanics to Atelier Resleriana, Koei Tecmo is clearly targeting the lucrative mobile gaming market. Interestingly, this is Koei Tecmo’s first mobile game in over two years, since the release of their mobile games paused in 2018.
Koei Tecmo has a history of working with Nintendo, having previously contributed to the development of Fire Emblem games on the Nintendo Switch. With the success of the gacha game Fire Emblem Heroes, which reached $1 billion in revenue, it’s not surprising that Koei Tecmo is returning to mobile gaming.
Given the abundance of characters in both the Atelier and Fire Emblem series, it wouldn’t be surprising if Atelier Resleriana follows the footsteps of Fire Emblem Heroes and incorporates legacy characters in the game. With a rich history dating back to the 90s, both series have a wide range of protagonists and side characters to choose from.
Gameplay and More Details
The reveal trailer for Atelier Resleriana showcases the game’s new protagonists and gameplay mechanics. It appears to stay true to the series’ traditional elements, such as combat, material gathering, and alchemy skill development. Since the initial reveal, more details have been released on Twitter. For example, it has been announced that characters from Atelier Ryza will appear in the game.
Atelier Ryza, the latest trilogy of Atelier games for consoles, achieved great success with over 1.5 million unit sales across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Steam. It even received an anime adaptation that began airing in July. Including Ryza and her companions in Atelier Resleriana seems like a logical step to entice fans who were introduced to the series through Atelier Ryza to try the mobile game.
A New Partnership and Potential Exclusivity
Koei Tecmo has previously collaborated with Top 50 Mobile Game Maker Square Enix on acclaimed titles like the Final Fantasy series. However, it remains to be seen whether Atelier Resleriana will follow Square Enix’s path and be a Japan-exclusive release.