It is indeed a timely announcement that Square Enix recently made about "nurturing" its HD-2D technology to avoid overexploitation. The success of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has revitalised the genre, which in 2020 even dared to bring its technology to a mobile title called Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. This title was a prequel to the original Octopath Traveler, which had some success in Asia, but not so much in its subsequent release in the West two years later. And now it seems that Square Enix will no longer commit their resources to the game there either.
As reported by producers Hirohito Suzuki and Takahiro Inoue in a statement on X, the management and future exploitation of Octopath Traveler will be completely transferred to NetEase on 16 January 2025. All content prepared for release will also be transferred to the Chinese publisher so that they can publish it, so this should not necessarily be the end for the game.
Have you tried Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, and what did you think?