Level-5 Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level-5 began self-publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo-kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.
G-Mode Corporation is a Japanese company that specializes in games for Java-compatible mobile phones. The company also licenses content for mobile telecommunications operators, as well as being involved in the original equipment manufacturing of mobile phone games.
Gal Gun, stylized as Gal★Gun, is a Japanese bishōjo rail shooter game developed by Inti Creates and published by Alchemist. It was first released on Xbox 360 in 2011, followed by a PlayStation 3 port a year later. The game takes place in a fictional academy in Japan, where the player takes the role of a male student, Tenzou Motesugi. He must shoot his female classmates, who are running desperately after him, with "Pheromone Arrows" to prevent them from making their partner, while he finds one of the four lead girls before sunset.
Senran Kagura is a video game series created by Kenichiro Takaki, produced by Marvelous and mostly developed by Tamsoft. The franchise revolves around groups of female shinobi, and has received manga and anime adaptations. The anime has been licensed by Crunchyroll LLC in North America.
Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing video game by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the long-running Dragon Quest video game series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2017 and worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2018. An enhanced version, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, was released for Nintendo Switch by Nintendo in September 2019; for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2020; and for Stadia in March 2021.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft. It is the fifth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series. It was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 in Japan.
In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
Shining Resonance Refrain is an action role-playing video game developed by O-Two Inc. and published by Sega. Originally developed by Media.Vision, it is an entry in Sega's Shining series of video games, and an expanded and remastered version of the Japan-only Shining Resonance released for the PlayStation 3 in 2014. While the original release was not translated into English, Refrain was released worldwide in July 2018 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One platforms.
Yo-kai Watch 4 is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch. As indicated by the name, it is the fourth game of the main series of Yo-kai Watch video games; unlike the preceding Yo-kai Watch 3, 4 was initially released only as a single version in Japan in June 2019. An enhanced version titled Yo-kai Watch 4++ was released for the Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2019. Its full name is "Yo-kai Watch 4: We're Looking Up At The Same Sky", translated from "妖怪ウォッチ4: ぼくらは同じ空を見上げている".
In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boon for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!, released in Asia as Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version!, is a rhythm game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was first released in Japan and other parts of Asia in July 2018, and in North America, Europe and Australia in November. The title's release marks the first release of a Taiko no Tatsujin game to Western audiences in over a decade. On November 30, 2023, it was delisted from the Nintendo eShop.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is a 2018 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and is the sequel to Trails of Cold Steel III and the final entry of the Trails of Cold Steel arc.
In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
