Level-5 (company)

History

Level-5 was established in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino and his development team at Riverhillsoft, following the release of OverBlood 2. Since Hino did not originally believe that his team could become an independent developer, he formed a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment, who would allow him to develop for their upcoming PlayStation 2 under the condition that he set up his own company. The name, "Level-5", was a reference to Japanese school report cards, where "Level-5" is the highest possible mark. Soon after being created, the company had eleven employees.

Level-5's first full-scale production was the action role-playing game Dark Cloud, developed under contract by Sony Computer Entertainment. Intended to be a launch game for the Japanese release of the PlayStation 2, it was delayed before the console's launch in March 2000 to allow further development, eventually being released in Japan in December 2000, and worldwide in 2001. Work immediately began on a sequel titled Dark Chronicle, released as Dark Cloud 2 in North America. The company was working with Microsoft Game Studios on an MMORPG for the Xbox, True Fantasy Live Online, before it was cancelled in 2004.

Yasumi Matsuno, director of Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the Ogre Battle series, briefly joined Level-5 in June 2011, and left the company after completing work on Crimson Shroud for the Nintendo 3DS. By the early 2010s, Level-5 was one of the ten largest video game companies in Japan, holding a market share of 3.2%. In October 2015, Level-5 founded a spin-off company in Santa Monica, in cooperation with Dentsu, called Level-5 Abby. In October 2020, it was reported that the company's North American operations, including Level-5 Abby, were shutting down due to low sales. The same month, Level 5 launched a manga publishing platform called "Manga 5".

Roid service

In 2009, Level-5 launched its Roid (Revolutionary Original Ideas Discovery) service, a mobile phone application that serves as a content delivery platform for mobile games. It is only compatible with NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile internet service in Japan. Users pay a monthly fee for access to exclusive games and social game functions. The platform debuted with six games: Sloan and McHale's Mystery Story, Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Mirror of Death Remix, Chara Jo P, Yuuenchi wo Tsukurō Revolution, Treasure Island, and Elf the Dragon. The first three were developed by Level-5, while the last three were developed by outside companies.

List of games

All games were developed and/or published by Level-5 unless otherwise noted

Notes

References

References

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2. "株式会社レベルファイブ".
3. (2010). "Iwata Asks: Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles, page 2". Nintendo of America Inc..
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5. (June 30, 2011). "How Yasumi Matsuno Ended Up at Level-5".
6. (November 8, 2012). "Yasumi Matsuno leaves Level 5".
7. (September 30, 2013). "Market Data". [[Capcom]].
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9. Galiz-Rowe, Ty. (October 12, 2020). "Ni No Kuni Developer Level-5 Is Shutting Down In North America-Report".
10. Mateo, Alex. (October 15, 2020). "Level-5 Opens 'Manga 5' Website with 9 New Manga on October 15".
11. (December 24, 2012). "Level-5's ROID Service Kicks Off Today -- Andriasang.com".
12. (2012). "In shops now: Inazuma Eleven 2: Firestorm and Inazuma Eleven 2: Blizzard".
13. (2011). "Level-5 International America History & Products 2009".
14. (2011). "Level-5 International America History & Products 2010".
15. (September 24, 2009). "TGS 2009: White Knight Chronicles 2 Revealed". Kotaku.
16. (June 27, 2010). "今度の敵は未来から!? 『イナズマイレブン』感謝祭で映画版・Wii版・第4弾を発表 - 電撃オンライン". News.dengeki.com.
17. (June 19, 2011). "3DS Inazuma Eleven Due This Winter".
18. (October 22, 2010). "Level-5 Bringing Mobile Hostess Sim to 3DS (andriasang.com, 10.20.2010)".
19. "Girl's RPG Cinderelife - In Development".
20. (July 24, 2012). ""Gundam Age" Games Release Date Pushed Back".
21. GUEST. "Level-5 Vision 2010 Live Blog (andriasang.com, 10.19.2010)".
22. Gantayat, Anoop. (2011). "First Professor Layton Crosses One Million". Adriasang.
23. "Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble".
24. (January 11, 2018). "Yo-kai Sangokushi: Kunitori Wars now available in Japan".
25. (June 27, 2018). "Yo-kai Watch World For Smartphones Is The Series' Take On Pokémon GO".
26. (July 18, 2018). "Fantasy Life Online Goes Live In Japan On July 23".
27. (December 5, 2019). "Yo-kai Watch 4++ Released Today In Japan, Here's Its Opening Movie".
28. (March 11, 2020). "Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu announced for PS4, Switch".
29. (August 5, 2021). "Megaton Musashi launches November 11 in Japan".
30. "Megaton Musashi Cross launches as a F2P title for PS4 & Switch on December 1 in Japan".
31. Romano, Sal. (February 14, 2025). "FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time launches May 21 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC".
32. (2025-04-12). "Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Game's Trailer Reveals August 21 Release, New Platform Lineup".
33. Tolentino, Josh. "Level-5 pushes DecaPolice into 2026, commits to PC release and simultaneous anime adaptation".
34. Torres, Josh. "Inazuma Eleven Re remakes the first Inazuma Eleven title that is coming to PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC in 2026".
35. (April 2, 2025). "Professor Layton and the New World of Steam adds Switch 2 version".
36. (January 13, 2024). "Inazuma Eleven: Cross announced for iOS, Android".
37. (September 24, 2024). "LEVEL-5 announces 'Ghost Craft RPG' cross-media project Holy Horror Mansion".
38. Romano, Sal. (13 January 2026). "LEVEL-5 president Akihiro Hino has begun writing Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road sequel".