*Update – 4/19* Nintendo have shifted the release date of Xenoblade Chronicles 3! More details found here.
Nintendo and Monolith Soft announced their next entry in the critically acclaimed Xenoblade series! Xenoblade Chronicles 3 releases in September 2022 for Switch. This new title ties together the futures of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2. A new path to the future draws near. Check out more details, a special message from Tetsuya Takahashi and the announcement trailer below:
A vast world awaits in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the next game in the acclaimed RPG series from developer MONOLITHSOFT. Players will step into the roles of protagonists Noah and Mio amid turmoil between the hostile nations of Keves and Agnus. Six characters hailing from those nations will take part in a grand tale with “life” as its central theme. Explore a new world that will connect the futures of both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, launching for Nintendo Switch in September 2022.
In Aionios, the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, there are two opposing nations: Keves and Agnus. They’re in steady conflict with each other, and their soldiers fight with their lives on the line every day just to survive.
Keves is a nation where mechanical technology was developed. Its forces are mainly composed of combat vehicles and small, mobile weapons operated by people riding them. If they’re clothed in black & have a “mech” style, then they’re Keves!
Agnus is a nation strong in ether, a magical technology. Their forces are made up of units specialized in ether combat, and they fight with small, mobile, autonomous weapons. If they’re clad in white and are proficient in ether combat, then they’re Agnus.
Six soldiers hailing from the nations of Keves and Agnus will take part in a grand tale with “life” as its central theme. What is the mysterious reason for these characters to put aside their differences?
Special Message from Tetsuya Takahashi
Hi everyone, this is Tetsuya Takahashi from MONOLITHSOFT.
Just over four years since the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and one and a half years since the release of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, we now bring to you news regarding the latest game from MONOLITHSOFT: Xenoblade Chronicles 3. As the name indicates, it’s the third installment in the Xenoblade Chronicles series. We are currently making final adjustments to ensure we create the best game possible based on everything we’ve learned from the past entries in the series.
The key visual features a broken great sword of Mechonis and the body of the Urayan Titan with a gaping wound. I imagine everyone who saw the trailer was quite surprised by the final scene. What is this visual hinting at? I can’t reveal that just yet. What I can tell you is that this visual was conceived quite some time ago. More precisely speaking, we came up with it sometime between the end of development of Xenoblade Chronicles and the beginning of development of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. So, it’s not something we recently added to the series.
We believe the game will be enjoyable for both those who’ve played Xenoblade Chronicles or Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as well as those who will be playing a Xenoblade Chronicles game for the first time.
The characters were designed by Masatsugu Saito, who also designed the characters for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While we can’t reveal them at this time, Koichi Mugitani created some of the game’s key artwork. As you can see, familiar staff members with the Xenoblade Chronicles series have once again come together to create this game.
The game music was also handled by artists who’ve contributed to the series in the past. The music for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, Manami Kiyota, ACE (TOMOri Kudo, CHiCO), Kenji Hiramatsu and Mariam Abounnasr.
The music in this game maintains the unique Xenoblade Chronicles touch while also taking on a new challenge, namely that of integrating a flute-based melody as its motif. The flute is actually one of the key themes in this game. A variety of other elements and themes are hidden in the trailer andwe’ll be revealing the details a bit at a time going forward.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a new adventure bringing together the worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to take players into the future. While there is still some time left before the release of the game, I hope you’ll look forward to it.
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