Bandai Namco has announced a plan to strengthen its licensing business, sparking hopes that this may potentially lead to some existing new opportunities for some of its most beloved titles (h/t: broskibae).
As part of this announcement, the famous video developer and publisher has launched a new webpage, which currently lists 27 of its IPs. This includes a bunch of popular IPs from across the company's history, from early arcade classics like Pac-Man through to modern hits like Elden Ring.
It has also announced plans to establish a dedicated licensing division, starting from April 1st, in an effort to further improve its "connection with fans" and "licensees" moving forward.
Some of the standout titles for us from those listed on the webpage include Ridge Racer, which hasn't received a new game since the 2016 mobile title Ridge Racer Draw & Drift; Soul Calibur, a series that has been on hiatus since 2018; and Monolith Soft's Xenosaga — a spiritual successor to Square's Xenogears and a precursor to Nintendo's Xenoblade Chronicles series.
But, in addition to those, Namco also lists the handheld console the WonderSwan among the list of IPs it is looking to license out, as well as cult favourites like Katamari Damacy, Mr. Driller, and Klonoa.
Obviously, it should be said, that this doesn't necessarily mean that we're guaranteed to get new entries in each of these series or a rerelease of the WonderSwan anytime soon. But it should hopefully pave the way for fans, third-party developers, and merchandisers to approach the company with their own ideas for Namco-related products.
Here's the full list of titles:
- Pac-Man
- The Idolmaster Series
- Taiko no Tatsujin
- Tekken
- Elden Ring
- "Tales Of" Series
- Namco Legendary
- Katamari Damacy
- DEN-ON-BU
- Gator Panic
- Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan
- Mr. Driller
- Klonoa
- Survival Quiz CITY
- Synduality: Echo of Ada
- Little Nightmares
- Code Vein
- God Eater
- Soul Calibur
- Dark Souls
- Scarlet Nexus
- Ace Combat
- Ridge Racer
- .hack series
- Baten Kaitos
- Xenosaga
- Wonderswan
You can visit the webpage here.