A new addition to the Sword Art Online series, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet , was announced this year at Tokyo Game Show. Its twist? For the first time, the game is replacing some of its traditional RPG elements with third-person shooting action.
The game’s producer, Yosuke Futami, spoke a bit about his inspirations for changing up the gameplay at a closed-door Q&A session held at Bandai Namco Headquarters in Tokyo. “Of course we drew a lot of inspiration from popular shooters and I really love games like Destiny and Fallout 4.”
…wait, Destiny? Fallout 4? I know that Destiny 2 had a pretty decent debut in Japan, but, the shooting genre as a whole has been notoriously unpopular here. When I asked him why he would bother basing a series that already has a strong and devout following in Japan on games in an unpopular genre, he answered candidly, with a big laugh: “Because I like them!”
For those concerned how it might match up with the Sword Art Online universe, you can be at peace. Reki Kawahara, the creator, plays a supervisory role on the game and approved its initial scenario. Asked to clarify what a supervisory role actually means, Futami stated that while the game was unfinished, he expects Kawahara to play the game and make sure the world stays consistent with his vision.
Finally, he was asked whether or not players should expect a Switch version. “We don’t have any plans right now to release the game on switch, but…well, the game started development 3 years ago before the Switch was even a thing, so that idea was nowhere in sight. Lots of fans have requested it, though, and we want them to know we’re considering [their thoughts].”
Keep an eye out for more news about Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet right here on Siliconera.
