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Level-5 Inc.

Native name	株式会社レベルファイブ
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha reberu faibu
Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Founded	October 28, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-10-28)
Headquarters	Fukuoka, Japan
Key people	Akihiro Hino (President CEO)
Products	Dark Cloud Professor Layton Inazuma Eleven Ni no Kuni Yo-kai Watch Snack World
Number of employees	300 (2024)
Subsidiaries	Freestyle Work Level-5 Comcept
Website	www.level5.co.jp

Level-5 Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level-5 began self-publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo-kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.

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

1. Japanese: 株式会社レベルファイブ, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Reberu Faibu
2. ^ Published by Sony Computer Entertainment
3. ^ Published by Square Enix
4. Co-developed by NHN PlayArt
5. Co-developed with Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Pune
6. ^ Developed by Koei Tecmo
7. Developed by h.a.n.d.
8. Developed by GungHo Online Entertainment
9. Developed by Netmarble

References

1. "会社概要｜株式会社レベルファイブ" (in Japanese). Retrieved August 19, 2024.
2. "株式会社レベルファイブ".
3. ^ Hino, Akihiro; Iwata, Satoru (2010). "Iwata Asks: Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles, page 2". Iwata Asks. Nintendo of America Inc. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
4. Cook, Chris (June 3, 2004). "True Fantasy Live Online Cancelled". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
5. "How Yasumi Matsuno Ended Up at Level-5". June 30, 2011. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. "Yasumi Matsuno leaves Level 5". November 8, 2012.
7. "Market Data". Capcom. September 30, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
8. "LEVEL-5 abby Inc".
9. Galiz-Rowe, Ty (October 12, 2020). "Ni No Kuni Developer Level-5 Is Shutting Down In North America-Report". GameSpot. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
10. Mateo, Alex (October 15, 2020). "Level-5 Opens 'Manga 5' Website with 9 New Manga on October 15". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
11. ^ "Level-5's ROID Service Kicks Off Today -- Andriasang.com". December 24, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
12. ^ "Level-5 International America History & Products 2009". 2011. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
13. ^ "Level-5 International America History & Products 2010". 2011. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
14. "In shops now: Inazuma Eleven 2: Firestorm and Inazuma Eleven 2: Blizzard". 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
15. "TGS 2009: White Knight Chronicles 2 Revealed". Kotaku. September 24, 2009.
16. "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" (in Japanese). News.dengeki.com. June 27, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
17. "3DS Inazuma Eleven Due This Winter". June 19, 2011. Archived from the original on June 19, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
18. "Level-5 Bringing Mobile Hostess Sim to 3DS (andriasang.com, 10.20.2010)". October 22, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
19. "Girl's RPG Cinderelife - In Development". Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
20. ^ GUEST. "Level-5 Vision 2010 Live Blog (andriasang.com, 10.19.2010)". Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
21. Gantayat, Anoop (2011). "First Professor Layton Crosses One Million". Adriasang. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
22. "Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble". yo-kai-wibblewobble.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
23. Romano, Sal (January 11, 2018). "Yo-kai Sangokushi: Kunitori Wars now available in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
24. Sato (June 27, 2018). "Yo-kai Watch World For Smartphones Is The Series' Take On Pokémon GO". Siliconera. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
25. Sato (July 18, 2018). "Fantasy Life Online Goes Live In Japan On July 23". Siliconera. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
26. Sato (December 5, 2019). "Yo-kai Watch 4++ Released Today In Japan, Here's Its Opening Movie". Siliconera. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
27. Romano, Sal (March 11, 2020). "Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu announced for PS4, Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
28. Romano, Sal (August 5, 2021). "Megaton Musashi launches November 11 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
29. Stenbuck, Kite. "Megaton Musashi Cross launches as a F2P title for PS4 & Switch on December 1 in Japan". RPGSite. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
30. Romano, Sal (February 8, 2023). "Professor Layton and The New World of Steam announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
31. Torres, Josh. "Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time rescheduled to an April 2025 release and reveals vast open world area | RPG Site". www.rpgsite.net. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
32. Torres, Josh. "Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road set to release in June 2025 worldwide simultaneously for PS5, PS4, Switch, PC, and mobile". RPG Site. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
33. Tolentino, Josh. "Level-5 pushes DecaPolice into 2026, commits to PC release and simultaneous anime adaptation | RPG Site". www.rpgsite.net. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
34. Torres, Josh. "Inazuma Eleven Re remakes the first Inazuma Eleven title that is coming to PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC in 2026 | RPG Site". www.rpgsite.net. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
35. "LEVEL-5 announces 'Ghost Craft RPG' cross-media project Holy Horror Mansion". Gematsu. September 24, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2024.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)

• Level-5 (company)
• Video game companies of Japan
• Video game development companies
• Video game publishers
• Companies based in Fukuoka
• Video game companies established in 1998
• Privately held companies of Japan
• Japanese companies established in 1998