Tales of Remastered Producer Explains Why Remasters Are Releasing Out of Order

Technical hurdles and missing original data forced Bandai Namco to change its remaster schedule

At Tokyo Game Show 2025, Yusuke Tomizawa, the lead producer of the Tales of series, shed light on why the highly anticipated Tales Remastered Project by Bandai Namco Entertainment is not following the original release timeline as many fans had expected. According to Tomizawa, unexpected technical issues and the loss of original source data have been the main reasons for reshuffling the release order of the remastered titles.

The Tales of Remastered Project officially began in October 2024 to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary. Its goal is to bring classic entries of the series to modern platforms in a systematic way. The first game in the project was Tales of Graces f Remastered (the 12th mainline entry from 2009), followed by the announcement of Tales of Xillia Remastered (the 13th mainline entry from 2011). This approach showed Bandai Namco’s intent to release remasters consistently, but the choice of games did not align with the chronological order of the original releases.

Tomizawa explained during TGS 2025 that the current project involves large-scale remaster production at a much faster pace than before. However, since the Tales series began in 1995, remastering each title has not been a straightforward process. One of the biggest challenges is retrieving and reconstructing the original source code and assets from older games. Many titles were developed by different studios over the years, which means some data is missing or incomplete, requiring months of analysis and restoration before work can even begin.

To avoid delays and keep the remaster pipeline moving, Bandai Namco decided to work on several titles simultaneously and prioritize release order based on readiness rather than original chronology. Tomizawa acknowledged that releasing games in chronological order would look more organized, but delivering them to fans as soon as possible was a higher priority.

He also shared that the team once attempted to follow the chronological order strictly, but this approach resulted in no remasters being released for an extended period. It was a frustrating phase for the development team, primarily due to the technical limitations and missing original data. Today, the Tales Remastered Project strikes a balance between fan expectations and the practical realities of development, ensuring that classic titles can return to modern platforms without unnecessary delays.