Tales Fans Are Fed Up as Hyped Anniversary Announcement Falls Flat

A Tales as old as time

by · Push Square

This is supposed to be a year of celebration for Tales as the series turns 30 — but a lack of meaningful announcements seems to be pushing fans towards an increasing sense of disappointment.

As reported by Automaton, it's primarily Japanese fans who are leading the backlash, with the most recent reveal being quite heavily criticised across social media.

For context, Bandai Namco was previously hyping up an announcement in conjunction with ufotable — the famous Japanese animation studio that's worked on a huge catalogue of anime and gaming properties over the years, including Tales itself.

This announcement was teased all the way back in February, and the publisher's been sharing regular countdowns ever since. Understandably, franchise fans had started getting their hopes up.

But as it turns out, the announcement has nothing to do with a new Tales title or even a related anime project. Instead, it's been revealed that ufotable and fellow animation studio Production I.G. are joining forces to create a series of 188 original illustrations in celebration of Tales' 30th anniversary.

Now, to us, that sounds pretty cool — but it's obviously the nature of the announcement, and the hype cycle behind it, that's rubbed fans the wrong way. Again, this has been bigged up for months.

And we suppose this disappointment ties back into what's been a bit of a weird year for Tales so far.

We wouldn't blame you for forgetting, but Tales of Berseria Remastered launched near the end of February. It always felt like there was very little excitement surrounding the re-release, and plenty of fans argued that a remaster was largely unnecessary.

And that remaster was announced just a month after Tales of Xillia Remastered dropped, adding to that sense of apathy. After all, you'd have thought that a Tales of Xillia 2 remaster would be next on the docket — but there's no real rhyme or reason to Bandai Namco's approach, which is yet another point of frustration.

Of course, there's still plenty of 2026 left to go, but we do think the publisher has to more carefully consider how it communicates with what is a very dedicated fanbase. Here's hoping that the next announcement goes down better.

What do you want to see from the rest of Tales' 30th anniversary? Wait patiently in the comments section below.

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News More Tales Announcements Incoming for Series' 30th Anniversary

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[source automaton-media.com]

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About Robert Ramsey

Robert (or Rob if you're lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he's played 'em all. A little too much, some might say.

Comments 12

Let’s be real… who the heck hypes up an announcement date and then when said announcement date comes, it was just an announcement about illustrations.

I would be fed up too.

As a Kingdom Hearts fan, y'all have my sympathies.

Given the tales of arise was associated with the 25th anniversary it feels like it’s about time for new game.

Why make new games when they can just pump out basic remasters.

Tales games used to be regular. I think now is the longest time without a new entry.

This 30th anniversary celebration feels crap.

Bamco didn't even bother to remaster / rerelease Tales of Phantasia which is the game that started the series and the last platform who received it was mobile/ios back in 2014. What kind of anniversary celebration where you didn't give a damn about the first game that started it all???

After the ho-hum reaction for Arise DLC and very low number sales for Graces, Xillia, and Berseria remaster, i'm not surprise if Bamco think the series isn't worth to invest anymore.

But before they put the series in the coffin, i personally want Phantasia, Destiny 1 & 2, and Eternia remaster. After that, they can do whatever they want.

This article is a bit confusing. It says Tales of Berseria dropped in February, and this announcement was made a month after Tales of Xillia....stating the announcement was teased back in February.

Did they release two Tales games in two months?

It’s probably a different team, but I really loved Eternal Sonata and it reminded me so much of the Tales series. If they are going to remaster stuff, I wish they would do it with that.

Nothing but tall tales.

@Quasicat Eternal Sonata was developed by Tri Crescendo and they are not part of Bamco devs. Although, they actually the one who remastered Tales of Symphonia for PS3 and also helped with Tales of Zestiria, Berseria, and Arise development.

Persona fans: First time?

Yes, bandai namco are being cheap as hell.
Just release a collection of the ps2 titles and no one will complain. I just don't get it. Fans can do it, why can't paid professionals?

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Tales Fans Are Fed Up as Hyped Anniversary Announcement Falls FlatA Tales as old as timeRobert Ramsey, 07 Apr 2026