Various media outlets are reporting that Vespa has halted further development on Shining Force: Heroes of Darkness and Light for mobile platforms. The re-imagined franchise was originally planned for release sometime in early 2022, with a beta version preceeding the the release.
The cause for the suspension was outlined to shareholders during a meeting on March 25 by Vespa CEO Kim Jin-soo, who said:
Currently, the development of Shining Force has been suspended due to the burden of cost…We were trying to reduce the burden of development costs and bring in money by selling the Shining Force rights. Unfortunately, as the other company is a large overseas company, it was subject to fair combination reporting, so the sale process took longer. So, it is impossible to help with the financial statements, and there was no sale.
However, speculation of the cancellation looked to have amassed before the announcement, as eagle-eye reddit users identified Vespa’s financial reporting in February, screamed trouble.
While Shining Force is suspended, the game company did indicate that they will continue with development of Kings Raid, and Time Defenders, of which the later is accepting registrations. This has not stopped however, individuals from expressing their disdain, including Twitch streamer and community member Zophar, who posted an appeal to the community on what could potentially be done to resurrect the idea:
How could this happen? Even as a mobile game, we need more Shining Force in our lives! I know I’m just one guy but… what can we do to help try and kickstart this back up?? https://t.co/0WbRTxZO8R
— Zophar (@TheRealZophar) March 27, 2022
Sources: Sega Bits, Gamerbraves, GamingOnPhone, Hankooki