Bandai Namco announced that it will reveal a new mobile app game titled The Idolmaster: Pop Links with a live stream scheduled to air on November 8, 2020, at 20:00 JST. The stream will be available to watch on not only Niconico and Periscope but also YouTube Live.
A teaser image for the new title hints that it will feature chibi-sized characters from five brands in the franchise: The Idolmaster, Cinderella Girls, Million Live, Shiny Colors, and SideM. The upcoming live stream will be hosted by the franchise’s general producer Yozo Sakagami, with the following voice actors also appearing as guests:
- Eriko Nakamura (voice actress of Haruka Amami from The Idolmaster)
- Marie Miyake (voice actress of Nana Abe from Cinderella Girls)
- Eri Inagawa (voice actress of Tamaki Ogami from Million Live)
- Tomohito Takatsuka (voice actor of Minori Watanabe from SideM)
- Mayu Mineda (voice actress of Meguru Hachimiya from Shiny Colors)
【アイドルマスターシリーズ】新作アプリゲーム『ポップリンクス』発表会を生配信にて実施決定！ #ポップリンクス #idolmaster https://t.co/n3kZZTvJub
— アイドルマスター公式ツイッター (@imas_official) November 4, 2020
The Idolmaster is Bandai Namco’s popular idol-raising simulation game series that celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2020. Although it started as an arcade game with several console games to follow, the franchise nowadays finds more activity in the mobile scene. Cinderella Girls, Million Live, Shiny Colors, and SideM are all mainly based on mobile platforms.
Although Bandai Namco is also working on a new console game with The Idolmaster: Starlit Season for PlayStation 4 and PC, its launch window was recently delayed to 2021 due to setbacks in development progress caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Idolmaster: Pop Links is being touted as a new app game. Although the platforms haven’t been officially confirmed yet, it will most likely be available on Android and iOS mobile devices.
